French journalist Jean Quatremer has published a multi-part investigation into the dysfunctional nature of EU institutions. Yesterday, he cited Elvinger’s housing allowance, a stipend intended to help officials from across the EU settle near their place of work, to highlight problems with the benefits.

According to the ECA's rules, the housing allowance--15% of gross salary--is granted to all members of the institution, including Luxembourg nationals, even though the ECA’s offices are located in Kirchberg. Quatremer estimates that Elvinger's allowance amounts to more than €40,000 per year. Yet, Elvinger lives in Walferdange, where she was mayor from January 2016 to November 2017. The municipality is located less than 10km from the ECA’s offices.

While this may seem ridiculous, Elvinger has not committed any wrongdoing, but benefits from a rule that applies to all members without distinction.

Contacted by Delano’s sister publication Paperjam, the ECA confirmed that Elvinger “receives a housing allowance, in accordance with the regulation” while specifying that this allowance is indeed received “regardless of nationality and place of residence. No institution is legally entitled to attach additional conditions to the payment of this residence allowance. Only the legislator could change the legislation.”

This investigation by Libération, like the one that preceded it, does not only mention Elvinger, but seeks to shed light on abuses committed by “a good third of the 27 members of the European Court of Auditors”, including its president, Klaus-Heiner Lehne, who is said to have taken liberties with the residence requirement in Luxembourg.

This story was first published in French on . It has been translated and edited for Delano.