MEPs backed an overhaul of the European Parliament’s transparency rules on Wednesday (13 September), praising it as a ‘serious first step’ as the Parliament continues its response to the Qatargate corruption scandal.
The new rules introduce a ban on MEPs from engaging with former MEPs who have left Parliament in the previous six months.
They will also require MEPs to declare all remunerated activities if their overall side income exceeds €5,000 annually. Meanwhile, EU lawmakers would not be allowed to receive any gifts worth more than €150, and any gifts over that value that they get while representing Parliament should be handed to the President. Declarations would have to be made for an MEP’s attendance at any event where their costs are paid by third parties.
The new regime was endorsed in Strasbourg on Wednesday with 505 votes in favour, 93 against, and 52 abstentions and will come into force in November.
The reforms to the Parliament’s internal rulebook, which are based on a 14-point reform plan tabled by the Parliament’s President Roberta Metsola, are in response to the Qatargate cash for influence scandal, which broke last December. The scandal saw the arrest of a handful of Socialist MEPs, past and present, over allegations that they had received hundreds of thousands of euros in exchange for political favours from Qatar and Morocco. The investigations and criminal proceedings are ongoing.
A way to go
“I share the views of President Metsola, who said that she wanted to go further, but the new rules will also serve as a deterrent,” Danuta Hubner, a member of the centre-right EPP, said during the debate on the rules on Monday.
“It is not even close to being the perfect, fresh new start that this Parliament needs. But it is a first step towards serious reform, real transparency requirements and preventing future conflicts of interest,” added. Green MEP Gwendoline Delbos-Corfield.
However, the new rules do not include a full ban on MEPs having second jobs, despite a majority voting in favour of such a ban in July.
In June, the European Commission set out plans to create a new Ethics Body covering the EU institutions, and the EU executive, led by Vice President Vera Jourova, is also working on new legislation aimed at imposing transparency obligations on funds or links to third countries on entities seeking to impact public opinion and the EU democratic sphere.
The Commission is also currently finishing an impact assessment on the law, Euractiv understands, which is part of the EU’s ‘Defence of Democracy package’.
However, it is unclear whether the new law will require lobbying firms to publish the contracts they have with third countries or entities as the United States Foreign Agents Registration Act does.
“After the close vote in committee last week, today’s victory will, I hope, help us to embark together on the road to restoring the confidence of our fellow citizens in our institutions after the profound damage caused by Qatargate,” said Gilles Boyer, spokesperson for the liberal Renew Europe group, in a statement after the vote.
“Much remains to be done for transparency, during this mandate and the one that will begin after the European elections. Transparency does not threaten elected representatives, it strengthens our democracy,” he added.
[Edited by Nathalie Weatherald]
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Source: euractiv.com
