A range of laws that costs you €3 a year

THE running of the European Parliament costs every person in the 27 states €3 a year, but very few of the near half billion citizens actually know whether this is good value, or even what they get for it.

Despite this, hundreds of pieces of legislation have passed through the hands of the MEPs over the past five years – and all of it affects ordinary citizens.

It’s a diverse range of legislation from insisting that medicines given to children are tested specifically for them, to the banning of seal products, blacklisting unsafe airlines and along with cutting the cost of mobile phone roaming charges.