How an MEP office can commission video: the rules in 2026

01

Route one: the Member’s allowance

The first budget is the parliamentary assistance allowance. According to the European Parliament, the maximum made available to each Member for all staff-related expenses in 2026 is EUR 32,072 a month. This amount is not paid to Members. They can use it for staff-related expenses after authorisation by Parliament’s administration.¹

The rules that apply to an outside producer are those on service providers. They are in the European Parliament’s Implementing Measures for the Statute for Members, in the version in force in 2026.²

Implementing MeasuresIn force 2026

Who can be hired

Art. 30(5): Members may use natural persons established, or companies incorporated, in an EU Member State who provide specialised and clearly identified services under a service contract.²

The link to the mandate

Art. 29(2): only assistance that is necessary and directly linked to the exercise of the Member’s parliamentary mandate is covered.²

Parliament decides whether a given cost is covered, so nothing in this guide is a promise that a video is reimbursable.

Three figures apply to service providers.

02

The paperwork for route one, in order

Four provisions of the Implementing Measures shape the file for a service contract paid from the allowance.² I have put them in the order an office meets them. The Measures do not number them as steps.

1. A paying agent administers the contract. Art. 32(1) and 33(4): a Member’s service contracts are administered by the Member’s paying agent, and Parliament pays the amounts due to the paying agent on submission of the supporting documents.
2. The application includes the contract. Art. 39(1): except for specialised services costing no more than EUR 500 including VAT, the Member’s application must include the contract, which clearly defines the services, and documents showing where the provider is established or registered, among other documents.
3. The thirty-day rule applies. Art. 29(3)⁠(a): where a contract has to be submitted, costs incurred more than thirty days before the application to register it are not covered.
4. The invoice and the confirmation follow. Art. 39(2): the cost of a service is covered when the Member submits an invoice or fee statement describing in detail the services actually provided, a copy of the contract and the Member’s confirmation that the service was provided.

03

Route two: group and delegation funds

The second budget is the political groups’ appropriations under budget item 400. The Bureau of the European Parliament sets the rules, given here as amended on 4 July 2022. Parliament publishes the Bureau’s rules together with the S&D Group’s provisions, the example used below.⁵

Bureau rules on item 400As amended 4 July 2022

What item 400 covers

Art. 1.1.1: the political groups’ appropriations cover secretariat costs and political and information activities connected with the EU’s political activities.⁵

Name or logo

Art. 1.5.1: anything financed from group funds must clearly carry the political group’s name and/or logo. The S&D Group’s provisions add that the national delegation’s name may accompany it.⁵

Group contracts, by valueBureau rules, Art. 2.3

Less than EUR 15,000

A single tender is sufficient.⁵

EUR 15,000 to EUR 60,000

A negotiated procedure with at least three candidates.⁵

Above EUR 60,000

At least five candidates and three valid tenders.⁵

The S&D Group’s own provisions

The next points come from the S&D Group’s implementing provisions, revised 22 November 2022. They are that group’s rules, and other groups have their own.⁵

How the threshold is measured

Point 2.3: the S&D provisions state the thresholds above excluding VAT. The threshold is measured on the contract’s full duration and all spending it provides for, including renewals. Contracts run for a maximum of four years, or more under justified circumstances, and should not exceed the legislative term.

A delegation’s contract

Point 1.7: national delegations may conclude service contracts from their decentralised appropriations. The contract states the provider, the duration, the services and the price (including VAT where applicable), among other points, and the invoice is presented with proof of the work done.

How it is paid

Expenditure is paid directly from a Group bank account to the supplier. For delegation spending, the delegation’s chair or treasurer first sends the original invoice to the Group’s financial service for validation.

04

What neither budget pays for

The written limits on party and campaign spending differ between the two budgets, so they are listed by budget.

The allowance

Art. 41(a) of the Implementing Measures: the allowance may not be used, directly or indirectly, to finance contracts with an organisation pursuing political objectives, such as a political party, foundation, movement or political group.²

Group funds

Art. 1.1.1 of the Bureau’s rules: group funds may not finance any form of European, national, regional or local electoral campaign, or political parties and foundations.⁵

Group funds: partly electoral content

Under the guidelines annexed to the Bureau’s rules (points 2.1 and 2.3), electoral nature is judged from the general context, and an activity considered partially electoral is rejected in its entirety. Listed examples of forbidden content include the word “candidate”, a list or list number, and any request to vote.⁵

For the allowance, the current rule is Art. 29(2) together with Art. 41(a): only assistance directly linked to the parliamentary mandate, and no contracts with political parties.² Parliament’s March 2021 FAQ for Members, the dated background in section 01, stated that election, referendum and other campaign expenses are ineligible.⁴ Campaign video is therefore a separate job with separate funding.

05

What to ask a video producer for

Three of the documents in the file depend on the producer, so ask for them at the start. Art. 39(1) of the Implementing Measures names other documents too.²

1. A service contract that defines the services clearly. That is what Art. 39(1) asks for. My own suggestion for video, which is not part of the rule, is to name the number of videos, the formats, the delivery dates and the price.
2. Proof of where the provider is established or registered. It is among the documents Art. 39(1) lists for the application.
3. An invoice that describes in detail the services actually provided. That is what Art. 39(2) asks for. My own suggestion is to have each delivered video listed by title and date.

This is how I handle it myself. My business is registered in Finland, Business ID 3101803-5. I prepare the estimate and the draft contract, and I send a VAT invoice. My prices are published, starting with a test video at €500 + VAT, fixed: see the price list for MEP offices. I film every week for the Finnish S&D delegation in the European Parliament.