Name: Fact check: Is Ursula von der Leyen auto-increasing her own salary?
Uploaded: 2026-01-16T14:19:29.029Z
Duration: 1 min 58 s
Description: Recent claims circulating on social media allege that European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has been “automatically increasing” her own salary. The Cube examined the claims to clarify how the salaries of EU officials are actually determined.

Recent claims circulating on social media allege that European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has been “automatically increasing” her own salary. The Cube examined the claims to clarify how the salaries of EU officials are actually determined.

Brussels

A claim circulating on social media suggests that European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is personally responsible for increasing her own salary. However, the salary adjustments for EU officials, including von der Leyen, are determined by an automatic mechanism established by the European Parliament and EU member states in 2013.

These adjustments are calculated annually using a Eurostat formula that reflects changes in the purchasing power of national civil servants across EU countries. While von der Leyen's salary has increased from approximately €28,400 in 2020 to €35,800, these changes are not the result of her personal decisions. Additionally, EU officials do not pay national income tax but are subject to EU taxes, and overall, EU staff's real purchasing power has decreased by 11.9% since 2004 due to reforms and cuts.

Fact check: Is Ursula von der Leyen 'auto-increasing' her own salary?

Is Ursula von der Leyen auto-increasing her own salary? A video recently shared on Instagram claims that European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is automatically increasing her own salary. The claim has resurfaced on social media after being relayed by far-right political figures, including former MEP Florian Philippot, who quoted an article published by the German newspaper Bild. In an article from March 2025, Bild reports that EU officials have received their seventh pay raise in three years. According to publicly available data published by EURLEX, it is true that the salaries of EU officials increase between 2020 and 2025. But these increases are not the result of a personal decision by Ursula von der Leyen. They are based on an automatic salary adjustment mechanism adopted in 2013 by the European Parliament and EU member states. EU staff salaries are updated annually using a formula calculated by Eurostat. This formula reflects changes in the purchasing power of national civil servants across EU countries. For example, if the Belgian government increases or decreases the purchasing power of its civil servants, the salaries of EU officials working in Belgium follow the same trend. Looking specifically at Ursula von der Leyen's salary, it is accurate to say that her monthly salary rose from around €28,400 in 2020 to approximately €35,800 today. Another claim often heard is that EU officials do not pay taxes. This is partly misleading. EU officials do not pay national income tax, but they are subject to EU taxes. A Commission spokesperson told the Cube that it has absolutely no such thing as self-raising salaries. It added that administrative savings between 2004 and 2025 led to an 11.9% drop in EU staff's real purchasing power due to staff regulation reforms and salary adjustment cuts.

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