Diamandouros pays the price?

Nikiforos Diamandouros, the ever-smiling European ombudsman, rattled the gilded cages of the Parliament and must now pay the price. He called for MEPs to publish details of their office expenses and other general expenses in the interests of transparency. With 15 months to go until the next round of European elections in June 2009, MEPs are less than pleased at unwelcome attention to their expenses. Many hoped they had put the lid on the issue by agreeing that when the new salary rules come in from 2009 they can only claim travel expenses on the basis of receipts rather than a flat rate. MEPs are grumbling that Diamandouros can kiss goodbye to any hopes of his mandate being renewed. The ombudsman is one of those rare EU appointments that are made by MEPs.