Around nine months after the corruption scandal was exposed, the EU Parliament passed stricter transparency rules. This includes the requirement to report meetings with lobbyists and the obligation to submit asset declarations.
After the bribery allegations in the European Parliament, MPs voted for stricter transparency rules. A clear majority of parliamentarians were in favor of declarations of assets at the beginning and end of a mandate, among other things.
There should also be stricter rules for the acceptance of gifts and the assumption of travel expenses by third parties. In the future, significantly more meetings with lobbyists will have to be published. The rules are expected to come into force in November.
In addition, the definition of cases in which a conflict of interest is involved is clarified. Lobbying activities during the exercise of the mandate are henceforth prohibited. In future, unofficial associations of MEPs will not be allowed to use the logo or name of the European Parliament in order to avoid confusion with the Parliament’s official communication.
Bribery scandal was discovered at the end of 2022
The bribery scandal that became public at the end of 2022 is about Qatar and Morocco allegedly influencing decisions in the EU Parliament. The defendants, including the former Vice President of Parliament, Eva Kaili, are accused by the public prosecutor of corruption, money laundering and membership in a criminal organization.
The suspected mastermind, Antonio Panzeri, was a member of the EU Parliament for many years before founding a non-governmental organization.
Not just praise for new rules
The anti-corruption organization Lobbycontrol welcomed the new rules of conduct. Although these are not yet enough, at least “a few important improvements” have been decided. Liberal MP Gilles Boyer spoke of a “first building block”. However, there is still “a lot to do” when it comes to transparency.
“The reforms will make the European Parliament noticeably more transparent,” said Green MP Daniel Freund. However, several important innovations were rejected, including the establishment of an independent monitoring body for lobbying rules. Green MP Gwendoline Delbos-Corfield regretted that EU MPs will also be allowed to have another job in addition to their well-paid parliamentary mandate in the future.
But some of the regulations go too far for conservative MPs. The CDU MP Daniel Caspary is concerned about the exercise of the free mandate, i.e. the independence of parliamentarians. He complained that the new rules would not prevent a case like Eva Kaili’s.