Suspected corruption in the EU Parliament: stricter rules adopted 12 days, 12 storms – September starts catastrophically

Following the bribery allegations in the European Parliament, MPs voted for stricter transparency rules. On Wednesday, a clear majority of parliamentarians in Strasbourg spoke out in favor of asset declarations at the beginning and end of a mandate. Besides, it should stricter rules for accepting gifts and reimbursement of travel expenses by third parties to give. In the future, significantly more meetings with lobbyists will have to be published. The rules are expected to come into effect in November.

The bribery scandal that became public at the end of 2022 concerns Qatar and Morocco allegedly influencing decisions in the EU Parliament. The suspects, including former deputy speaker of parliament Eva Kaili, are accused by the public prosecutor of corruption, money laundering and membership of a criminal organization. The alleged mastermind, Antonio Panzeri, was a member of the EU Parliament for many years before founding a non-governmental organization.

“The reforms will make the European Parliament noticeably more transparent,” says Greens MP Daniel Freund. However, several key innovations were rejected, including the creation of an independent oversight body for lobbying rules. But some rules go too far for Conservative MPs. CDU MP Daniel Caspary is concerned about the exercise of the free mandate, i.e. the independence of parliamentarians. He complained that the new rules would not prevent a case like Eva Kaili’s. (sda/dpa)