It is about a salary increase for around 50,000 EU officials. According to the current plan, the wages of the eurocrats are to rise by almost seven percent. Now there is a heated argument about the EU Parliament, because that would entail enormous costs – and that in the middle of the energy crisis.

The EU Commission has calculated that a salary adjustment of exactly 6.9 percent is pending. The reason: an automatic adjustment process with regard to the massively increased inflation rates in Brussels and Luxembourg. Actually a completely normal and recurring process.

According to these calculations, the salaries of EU officials should increase by at least 210 euros and up to 1460 euros a month, depending on the salary group – retroactive to July 1st, as “Bild” reports. The diets of the MPs climb accordingly by more than 630 euros.

Wages are set to increase even more at the top of the EU executives: The EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen would get 2015 euros more, according to the report.

Because of the enormous costs that these salary increases would entail, a dispute is now arising in Brussels. The EU countries don’t like that at all. They refer to an “unsustainable burden” and a “considerable additional financing requirement”, quoted the “Bild”. The demand: a “one-time suspension” of the automatic salary increase. They ask for a clear round.

Discussions are likely to continue this month, as the EU statistics office Eurostat will only present the final figures at the end of October.