Lobbyists and NGOs must be registered on the EU’s transparency register before participating as invited guests or co-host events in the European Parliament, according to a decision adopted by the Parliament’s leadership earlier this week.
The move, which was confirmed at a closed-doors meeting on Monday (22 May), forms part of the Parliament’s response to the Qatargate scandal, which has seen a handful of MEPs and officials arrested and facing corruption charges for allegedly taking money from officials representing the Qatari and Moroccan governments in exchange for political influence.
Greek MEP Eva Kaili, a former vice-president of Parliament, and Belgian MEP Marc Tarabella, both socialist lawmakers, have been among those arrested and detained, while Italian former MEP Pier Antonio Panzeri struck a plea bargain with Belgian prosecutors in exchange for a reduced sentence. Kaili and Tarabella have denied any wrongdoing.
An internal briefing document, seen by EURACTIV, stated that the new measure would increase transparency “by requiring prior registration in the transparency register as a necessary condition for interest representatives to carry out certain event-related activities on Parliament premises, applying a no registration – no participation principle.”
Meanwhile, lobbyists would also be banned from attending political group meetings and those of their internal bodies, which aim to coordinate and support their members’ parliamentary activities.
The role of lobbyists and special interest groups, and the question of their ease of access to the Parliament’s premises, has been brought into the spotlight by the scandal.
Fight Impunity, an NGO founded by Panzeri is allegedly used to funnel illicit payments.
That prompted Parliament President Roberta Metsola to propose a ban on MEPs’ so-called ‘friendship groups’, which link lawmakers to third countries.
On 8 February, the Parliament’s political groups endorsed a package of internal reforms, the so-called 14 Metsola points, which contains provisions to prevent corruption, including mandatory registration of meetings between lobbyists, MEPs and their staff, more restrictive measures for ex-MEP badges, and a cooling off period of six months for former members before they can access the Parliament.
They also include plans to introduce regular checks on all lobbyists in the Transparency Register (requesting them to verify links with third countries), to publish all meetings with third parties related to a Parliament report or a resolution, and declare any overseas trips.
MEPs are expected to formally adopt the new internal rules before the summer recess in July.
[Edited by Alice Taylor]
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Source: euractiv.com
