59Indeed, one of the fundamental concerns in any parliamentary system is to guarantee the independence, including the financial independence, of the members as representatives of the people, who are meant to act in the general interest of the people. As is stated in the fourth recital in the preamble to the Statute for Members, the freedom and independence of Members are not mentioned in any provision of primary law. However, Rule 2 of the Rules of Procedure of the Parliament provides that ‘Members … shall exercise their mandate independently’. Similarly, Article 2(1) of the Statute for Members states that ‘Members shall be free and independent’ and Article 9(1) of that statute provides that ‘Members shall be entitled to an appropriate salary to safeguard their independence’. Even though the Statute for Members entered into force only on 14 July 2009 and does not therefore apply to the facts of the present case, those provisions, in particular the latter, stem from a general principle inherent in any system of democratic parliamentary representation. It must be pointed out in this regard that the guarantee of an appropriate salary, thus safeguarding the independence of Members, cannot be limited merely to the Member’s term of office but must also cover, to an appropriate degree, a transitional period following the end of that term of office and provide for a pension which is determined by the period of time for which the individual in question has been a Member of the Parliament. This idea of guaranteeing the financial independence of Members is moreover confirmed in the rules relating to Members of the Commission and Members of the Courts of the European Union, in respect of whom there is a similar need to ensure that they are able to perform their duties on a wholly independent basis, unaffected by individual interests.