The Flemish Parliament and the House must pay up to 20 million euros in compensation to parliamentarians who were not re-elected, according to De Tijd. In the federal parliament, 73 out of the 150 representatives who were seated before the elections did not get re-elected. This included two unelected Ecolo ministers, Marie-Colline Leroy and Georges Gilkinet, who were entitled to 12.4 million euros in exit compensation.
The Flemish Parliament also needs to pay 7.7 million euros in stop premiums to 54 non-re-elected parliamentarians. To ensure that these ex-parliamentarians do not lose their income suddenly, their salary continues for a period of time after leaving office. However, the House’s regulations tend to be more generous than those of the Flemish Parliament, and there is also an exceptional regime in place for MPs with many years of service.
It is important to note that parliaments do not automatically pay out compensation to former members but only if an application has been submitted. Some MPs such as Patrick Dewael and Servais Verherstraeten have stated that they will only request half of their compensation while outgoing members of the PVDA-PTB faction have declared that they will not apply for any compensation at all.
