Crime: EU Parliament President denies mistakes | STERN.de

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EU Parliament President denies mistakes

EU Parliament President Roberta Metsola has to put up with questions about trips reported too late. A trip led to a luxury hotel. The President defends herself.

In her opinion, the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, made no mistake by belatedly reporting a stay in a French luxury hotel and other trips paid for by a third party. “It wasn’t a mistake, no speaker of parliament before me has ever taken this step,” Metsola told the “Handelsblatt” (Saturday). Amid the EU corruption scandal, Metsola released information last week on gifts and travel paid for by third parties – much of it from last year.

According to parliamentary rules, MPs must report trips and gifts paid for by third parties by the end of the following month at the latest and publish them in a public register. According to Metsola, however, the Speakers of Parliament have not done so so far. She wanted to break with “what was customary, what was traditional and disclose everything,” said Metsola. She wants to take responsibility and be a role model. Former Speaker of Parliament David Sassoli had not publicly reported any trips or gifts during his tenure.

The accompaniment was also kept secret

Among other things, it is about a trip by Metsola to an appointment with a wine brotherhood in France, where the brotherhood paid for a five-star hotel for her and her husband. According to parliamentary rules, she should have reported the trip at the end of November last year. Metsola initially did not indicate that her husband was also on the trip. A Metsola spokesman said she had been invited to give a speech on protecting the gastronomy for which the region is famous. She acted on behalf of the European Parliament.

In addition, Metsola had made 125 gifts public too late. According to the listing, the politician gave most of the presents for the safekeeping of the parliamentary administration or stored them in her office. The latter were, for example, pictures, vases and books. Metsola’s spokesman stressed that the president accepts gifts on behalf of the institution but does not keep them.

It was initially unclear whether Metsola was now threatened with consequences. In theory, sanctions could be imposed for violations. The President of Parliament is actually responsible for implementing the rules.

In the most recent EU corruption scandal, the judiciary has accused former parliamentary vice president Eva Kaili of involvement in a criminal organization, money laundering and corruption. It is about alleged influence from Qatar and Morocco on political decisions of the European Parliament.

dpa

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