Corruption allegations in the Union: All MEPs sign "Declaration of Honor"

Friday March 12th 2021

Corruption allegations in the Union
All MPs sign "Declaration of Honor"

Have other members of the CDU and CSU obtained financial advantages in connection with the corona pandemic? According to a required "Declaration of Honor", the answer to this question is no. All parliamentarians sign on time.

All 240 members of the CDU / CSU parliamentary group signed the requested "declaration of honor" in the mask affair. You confirm that you have not achieved any financial benefits from combating the corona pandemic. The CDU parliamentary group leader Ralph Brinkhaus and CSU regional group leader Alexander Dobrindt announced this to the members of the Bundestag after the ultimatum expired at 6 p.m.

"All CDU / CSU members of the Bundestag have signed this declaration, making it clear that they have worked with all their might during the corona pandemic to overcome the crisis, to help citizens and support companies without drawing any personal benefit from it," write Brinkhaus and Dobrindt in a letter to the MPs. They also announce that they will implement a stricter code of conduct for parliamentary group members. At the legislative level, the transparency provisions in the law on parliament should be tightened.

The top of the group had asked the parliamentarians to declare that they had not achieved any financial benefits in connection with the fight against the corona pandemic. The occasion was the affairs of the MPs Georg Nüßlein (previously CSU) and Nikolas Löbel (previously CDU), who have since left the parties. Löbel has also resigned his Bundestag mandate, Nüßlein only announced that he would not run for the Bundestag again in the autumn. On Thursday, the Thuringian CDU politician Mark Hauptmann resigned from his seat. He is said to have possibly disreputable connections to Azerbaijan.

According to Brinkhaus and Dobrindt, the declaration relates to the years 2020 and 2021 and must take into account all transactions that were carried out either "directly or through companies". Any financial advantages "from the purchase or sale of medical products such as protective equipment, test and vaccination requirements, from arranging contacts, from forwarding offers or inquiries or from supporting or advising third parties in such activities" should be taken into account. . It is said that it is your responsibility to "present and clarify such facts in a completely transparent manner".

The allegations are extremely inconvenient for the Union shortly before the state elections in Baden-Württemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate this Sunday. In the current trend barometer from ntv, their downward trend is continuing. Compared to the previous week, the CDU and CSU lost another percentage point and only come to 33 percent. As in the previous week, this is the worst value since March 2020.