EU lawmakers have dismissed the European Commission’s plans for a new EU Ethics body as toothless and a missed opportunity after unveiling the proposal on Thursday (8 June).
The blueprint tabled by the EU executive’s values and transparency Commissioner Vera Jourová comes in the wake of the Qatargate corruption scandal, which engulfed EU institutions last December.
A handful of prominent MEPs and officials have been arrested for allegedly taking money from Morocco and Qatar in exchange for political influence.
Earlier this week, Belgian police authorities raided offices in the European Parliament about the ongoing investigations.
The new Ethics Body will set out common standards for the ethical conduct of members and a formal mechanism for coordination and exchange of views on ethical requirements among institutions. That will include rules on accepting gifts, hospitality and travel offered by third parties.
The regime will also set rules to regulate side jobs held by lawmakers and their financial interests, as well as transparency requirements for meetings with lobbyists and former MEPs.
“If we want to remain credible in their eyes, we need all to be subject to common ethical standards,” said Jourová.
“Abuse of power and corruption is decreasing the trust of citizens,” Jourová said last week, adding that “to regain the trust of people after Qatar gate, it will take some time”.
However, according to the Commission plan, the new ethics body will only have three employees alongside a budget of €600,000, a fraction of the sums of cash seized by law enforcement authorities in raids related to the Qatargate scandal.
Nor will it deal with individual investigations, which will be left in the hands of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office and national police and judicial authorities.
However, the proposal was immediately dismissed by MEPs and transparency campaigners.
The Socialist and Democratic group described the proposal as “a missed opportunity”.
“The proposal lacks the teeth to apply the same ethics standards across all EU institutions. We don’t need a new European ‘body’ that only establishes minimum common standards or only promotes a culture of ethics. We need an EU Ethics Body that deserves its name,” said Gaby Bischoff, vice president of the S&D Group.
EU ethics body will not have sanctioning powers, Commission says
The new EU Ethics Body will harmonise transparency standards for EU politicians in nine EU institutions but will not have investigative and sanctioning powers, a European Commission source told EURACTIV.
Meanwhile, the liberal Renew group in the parliament said it would not support a “toothless ethics body”, while the Greens described the proposal as “underwhelming, underpowered and uninspired”.
The centre-right EPP group offered qualified support for the proposal but warned that “an ethics body would not have prevented abuses like Qatargate.”
“There is a real risk of the politicisation of an authority that governs ethics and not legal standards”, said Sven Simon, the EPP’s spokesman on Constitutional Affairs.
“The core problem that was revealed during Qatargate, namely unchecked influence through NGOs and other actors, is not addressed through the proposal,” added Simon.
Last week, a senior Commission official told EURACTIV that the blueprint would set transparency standards for EU politicians in nine EU institutions but will not have investigative and sanctioning powers.
Lawmakers from the EU institutions are set to hold their first debate on the proposal on 3 July before negotiations on the legislation begin.
“This proposed ethics body reinforces the EU’s business-as-usual, self-policing approach to misconduct,” said Transparency International’s deputy director for Europe, Nick Aiossa.
“If the EU is to be serious about combatting corruption within its own ranks, it must ensure that any independent oversight body has the power and resources to investigate and sanction members engaged in wrongdoing,” he added.
[Edited by Alice Taylor]
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Source: euractiv.com
