The new Speaker of Parliament may not have emerged in the background yet, with the various scenarios and bargains giving and taking, but the following facts are absolutely clear to the suitors of the position:
- First, the amount of remuneration they will receive with their election to the second highest state office of the Republic of Cyprus, which is clearly higher than that of the deputies.
- Second, the funds they will have at their disposal for the remuneration of their associates.
In particular, the total remuneration of the Speaker of Parliament during his five-year term amounts, according to the General Accounting Office of the Republic, to € 656,930. If one adds the amount of € 1.6 million that will be available to him in the five years of his term – € 320,000 per year – for the remuneration of the associates he will choose, then the total amount of the remuneration of the Speaker of Parliament and the fees of his associates are summed up at € 2,256,930.
The Speaker of Parliament receives an annual gross salary of € 81,500 and an annual index of € 12,494. Total, that is, € 93,995. In addition, he receives a performance allowance, which amounts to € 29,558 per year. Total € 123,553. If the 13th salary is added, then the total annual gross earnings of the Speaker of Parliament are added to € 131,386 or € 656,930 for his entire term. After deducting all the cuts and contributions as well as the income tax, a net monthly salary of € 5,852 arises for the Speaker of Parliament. For comparison purposes, the net monthly salary of the MP together with the three allowances amounts to € 4,733.
The recruitment of associates
According to the budget of the Parliament for the year 2021, the Speaker of the Parliament has at his disposal a fund of € 320,000 for the remuneration of his associates, although a part of it has already been spent by the outgoing Speaker of the Parliament as we go through the sixth month of this year year. Until the presidency of Giannakis Homer (2011-2016) the respective Speakers of Parliament appointed a director of their office and a special advisor. Both were placed on the A15 salary scale. Specifically, the director of the office of the Speaker of Parliament received an annual salary of € 56,361 plus a performance allowance of € 6,150. Total, € 62,510 per year. The special adviser to the Speaker of Parliament received an annual salary of € 54,760 and a performance allowance of € 4,100. When he was elected Speaker of Parliament in 2016, Dimitris Syllouris did not appoint a director in his office, nor a special adviser. Instead, with the funds at his disposal, he hired 12 associates with annual contracts, determining the amount of remuneration of his associates. At the same time, from the same fund, he granted an additional monthly allowance to his special secretary. Around the end of 2017, Dimitris Syllouris created the position of press spokesman in his office with a monthly salary of up to € 5,000. The employment of associates in the presidency of Parliament does not exceed the term of office of the Speaker of Parliament who employed them. Therefore, with the obligatory resignation of Mr. Syllouris, in October 2020, his associates should also leave. However, Mr. Adamos Adamou, who succeeded Mr. Syllouris by alternate election, kept Dimitris Syllouris' associates for purely humanitarian reasons until the end of his term.
It should be noted that the annual budget of the Parliament from 2020 onwards is prepared by the Speaker of the Parliament, after the amendment of the Constitution unanimously brought by the Plenary of the House voting on its financial independence. This means that the Speaker of Parliament can fluctuate the funds at his disposal.
Legal advisors
The new Speaker of Parliament has at his disposal every year a fund of € 415,000 for the purchase of services in order, among other things, to cover the fees of private lawyers he recruits to defend the decisions of Parliament before the Supreme Court. In cases where President Anastasiadis refuses to sign laws passed by Parliament either because they were considered unconstitutional by the Attorney General or because he disagrees with their philosophy, the dispute is referred to the Supreme Court if the Parliament insists on its position. As we have been told, there are more than two cases pending before the Supreme Court today. A major legal battle in the rooms of the Supreme Court is expected to take place very soon between the lawyers of the Parliament and the Legal Service regarding the resolution that was approved, last April, by a majority of the Plenary Session of the Parliament. The disputed resolution calls on the Attorney General and the Assistant Attorney General to be excluded from the evaluation of the final conclusion of the Commission of Inquiry into “golden” passports due to a conflict of interest. The report is expected to be presented next week before the Attorney General, who has appealed to the Supreme Court seeking the annulment of the resolution.
And with a new general manager
The new Speaker of Parliament who will take office next Thursday and for the next, at least, two months will govern the Parliament with Deputy General Director as Socrates Socrates retired on June 1, 2021 after a six-month extension granted to him by D. The position of the general director of the Parliament was announced yesterday in the Gazette of the Republic. The position in question is of first appointment and promotion with an annual salary of € 96,491 plus indexation allowance. Candidates for the position can also be persons who serve in a senior position in the Parliament, that is, in scale A13 and above and have at least ten years of service.
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