Exceeding Parliamentary Compensation Ceilings: The Case of Alderwoman Valentine Delwart and Stefan Cornelis

2024-03-19 20:18:00

Finance Alderwoman Valentine Delwart (MR) has several mandates which have led her to exceed by several tens of thousands of euros the 150% of the amount of parliamentary compensation paid to members of the Chamber, revealed La Derniere Heure this Monday. The annual total of his public remuneration therefore reaches €232,325.80 per year, while the remuneration ceiling, set at 150% of the amount of a parliamentarian’s compensation, is around €190,000 (depending on indexation) . The one who is also general secretary of the MR pleaded administrative confusion and promised to reimburse the undue amounts.

The president of the CPAS exceeds the ceiling, but the transparency unit of the Brussels Parliament considers this legal

Another member of the Uccle executive also happily exceeds the amount corresponding to the ceiling of the parliamentary allowance: Stefan Cornelis (Open VLD), president of the Uccle CPAS.

In 2022, the liberal received 200,000 euros (rounded amount declared on Cumuleo) as chief of staff of Brussels minister Sven Gatz (Open VLD), €69,834.27 as president of CPAS and €2,313.97 in attendance fees . That’s a total of €272,148.24. That is 80,000 € more than the ceiling of 190,000 €… “As I exceed the threshold (of 150% of the parliamentary allowance), my mandates (President of the CPAS and municipal councilor) are capped at 50% of the income of a parliamentarian,” Stefan Cornelis wrote to DH.

Contacted by La Libre, the transparency unit of the Brussels Parliament validates its explanation. “Our unit had a series of meetings with both the municipality and the CPAS of Uccle and its president, Mr. Cornelis,” writes François Robert, deputy advisor to the transparency unit. In essence, the latter explains that the income of head cab that the elected official receives cannot be reduced because this is not provided for by the ordinance which sets a “chain of reduction (first municipal councilor then president of the CPAS, etc.)”. And the remuneration of Stefan Cornelis as president of the CPAS of Uccle cannot be reduced to less than 50% of the amount of the parliamentary compensation – or less than €63,648.29. In the Brussels Region, a public official can therefore exceed the authorized remuneration ceiling… without exceeding the authorized remuneration ceiling.

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