Editing European Parliament (section)

===Salaries and expenses===
Before 2009, members received the same salary as members of their national parliament. However, from 2009 a new members statute came into force, after years of attempts, which gave all members an equal monthly pay, of €8,484.05 each in 2016, subject to a European Union tax and which can also be taxed nationally. MEPs are entitled to a pension, paid by Parliament, from the age of 63. Members are also entitled to allowances for office costs and subsistence, and travelling expenses, based on actual cost.<ref>{{cite web|title=About MEPs|publisher=European Parliament|url=http://www.europarl.europa.eu/meps/en/about-meps.html|access-date=13 January 2019}}</ref> Besides their pay, members are granted a number of privileges and [[Diplomatic immunity|immunities]]. To ensure their free movement to and from the Parliament, they are accorded by their own states the facilities accorded to senior officials travelling abroad and, by other state governments, the status of visiting [[Diplomat|foreign representative]]s. When in their own state, they have all the immunities accorded to national parliamentarians, and, in other states, they have immunity from [[Detention (imprisonment)|detention]] and [[Criminal procedure|legal proceedings]]. They may then only be prosecuted after the European Parliament waives their immunity. However, immunity cannot be claimed when a member is found committing a criminal offence and the Parliament also has the right to strip a member of their immunity.<ref name="LEX Prot">{{cite web|title=7. Protocol on the privileges and immunities of the European Union|publisher=[[Europa (web portal)|Eur-Lex]]|date=16 December 2004|url=http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/site/en/oj/2004/c_310/c_31020041216en02610266.pdf|access-date=27 October 2007}}</ref>