‘Friendship’ groups of MEPs with countries outside the EU will be banned under new plans to improve transparency in the European Parliament in the wake of the Qatargate bribery scandal.
There are currently dozens of ‘friendship’ groups and other policy working groups which do not have official standing within the Parliament and whose activities are often financed by lobbyists.
The 14-point plan, seen by EURACTIV, that was agreed upon by the Parliament’s leadership, including the chamber’s President Roberta Metsola, is set to be at the heart of the Parliament’s response to the Qatargate scandal.
The scandal saw several MEPs and parliamentary staff arrested and charged for allegedly taking bribes in exchange for political support. The Emirati country has denied any wrongdoing.
There is speculation that other countries, including Morocco, have also offered financial inducements to EU lawmakers for political favours, though this has been denied by Rabat.
The Parliament also plans to introduce regular checks on all lobbyists in the Transparency Register including requesting them to verify links with third countries. Meanwhile, MEPs could be required to publish all meetings with third parties related to a Parliament report or a resolution and declare any overseas trips.
“The events of the last month have led to a need to re-build trust with the European citizens we represent,” a covering note states, adding that the proposals are the “first step in reinforcing trust in European decision-making”.
However, many of the proposals amount to going after low-hanging fruit. Although MEPs have previously called for a new independent ethics body, this would require proposals by the European Commission. Nor do the proposals include plans to make lobbyists publish contracts and their activities with foreign governments and actors.
Other planned measures include requiring MEPs to make a declaration on any conflict of interest before becoming rapporteurs or shadow rapporteurs on a file.
Former MEPs will also be subject to a ‘’cooling off’’ period before they can start lobbying the Parliament, and will no longer be allowed to have permanent Parliament passes or to grant entry to other people.
Good start, but we want more
A spokesperson for Metsola told EURACTIV that there was “full support” for the President’s proposals.
However, negotiations are still in an early stage and the Parliament’s political groups are expecting additional measures on top of these initial proposals.
European People’s Party President Manfred Weber told EURACTIV that the proposal represents “steps in the right direction”. However, “more is needed for Parliament to fully deal with the consequences of Qatargate”, he said.
Weber also attacked the Socialist and Democrat (S&D) group, several of whose members have been implicated in Qatargate, saying that they did not apply “zero tolerance policy against corruption”.
S&D President Iratxe Garcia Perez said in a press release that “we had a very good discussion” and that the group is collaborating for the investigation of the Qatargate.
“We are totally determined to work with the rest of the groups to rebuild citizens’ trust and repair the damage done by a few to the credibility of the institution by criminal acts,” she added.
Meanwhile, a source from the liberal Renew Europe group told EURACTIV that they support the proposal. “We insist on improving the ethical body,” the source said.
The calendar does not fully depend on the European Parliament as other institutions are involved.
According to Renew, there is the political will to “solve it before the Summer” from the EU Parliament side.
Luca Bertuzzi contributed to reporting on this story.
[Edited by Nathalie Weatherald]
Source: euractiv.com
