Since the corruption scandal involving ex-Vice President Kaili, the European Parliament has been dealing with its regulations for dealing with lobbyists. It is clear that many MPs have ignored them so far without being punished for it. The EU now wants to readjust.
The European Parliament is still under pressure. The corruption scandal surrounding his former Vice President Eva Kaili in the winter of last year caused serious image damage. It casts a bad light on the work of the EU institutions, which are estimated to be influenced by around 30,000 lobbyists. There are about as many of them in Brussels as there are employees in the authorities of the European Union. Of course, discussions with stakeholders do not automatically lead to bribery. Nevertheless, the question now arises as to how the EU intends to deal with the lobbyist quagmire. In this context, she is planning an ethics committee.
Rules for Parliament have existed for years, but not every MEP follows them. For example, parliamentarians should enter their meetings with interest representatives in a lobby register. Additional income, gifts and invitations from third parties must be reported to the parliamentary administration and published. The fact that the elected officials partially ignored these rules is shown by the fact that many gifts or trips were only reported after the scandal. This usually happened after the deadline provided for this, which expires at the end of the following month.
Among the laggards was Parliament Speaker Roberta Metsola. In January, she disclosed the gifts and invitations she had received over the course of a year. She tried to be “as transparent as possible,” said a spokesman. She wanted to break with the tradition of her predecessors, who only gave gifts at the end of their term of office and refrained from publishing them. However, Metsola’s report came too late. She doesn’t have to fear a fine. The President of the Parliament is responsible for sanctioning violations of the rules.
The ethics panel should also target the Commission
This “culture of impunity” should be abolished, says Daniel Freund in an interview with ntv.de. The Green MEP advocates stricter rules against lobbying. He wants to set up an independent ethics body to monitor the activities of Parliament and the Commission. At the beginning of her term of office, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen pledged her support, he says. He also got a majority in Parliament. “Unfortunately, not much happened after that,” criticizes Freund.
At the end of March, the EU Commission wants to present its own draft for the body based on his proposal. So far, the plans provide for the Council, Commission and Parliament to appoint three members each. Freund doesn’t want to fall back on members of parliament for the appointment, but rather on “former judges, employees of national authorities or ombudsmen”. If they discover a breach of transparency rules, they should make a recommendation to the President of the Commission and Parliament. “If these recommendations are not followed, the presidents must at least explain why they are not sanctioning,” he says.
Metsola itself is also committed to promoting transparency among MPs. A 14-point plan by the President of the Parliament envisages, among other things, restricting the lobbying work of former MEPs. Next week, Parliament plans to vote on a draft to restrict former members’ access to the Brussels institutions. So far, they have been able to go in and out without registering. Metsola’s plan is a step in the right direction, says Freund, but he doesn’t think it goes far enough. “There are still no rules in the EU for lobbying by third countries,” he complains.
There are opponents of the “write-down rules” in Parliament
Transparency is particularly important when working with countries outside the EU. Behind the Kaili bribery scandal is suspected attempts by the governments of Qatar and Morocco to influence parliamentary decisions. The public prosecutor’s office has accused the accused of corruption, money laundering and membership in a criminal organization. Kaili, mastermind Antonio Panzeri and other suspects are still in custody. The scandal had given Freund’s concerns a boost at the time. Unfortunately, the enthusiasm that the parliamentarians then showed in terms of transparency has already evaporated, he criticizes. “Currently, only half of MPs publish their meetings in the lobby register,” said Freund.
There are also opponents of stricter disclosure requirements in Parliament. They include Vice President Rainer Wieland, CDU politician and member of the European People’s Party. He doesn’t believe that after the scandal “every colleague has to walk around with a dismayed expression”, says Wieland in an interview with ntv.de. Behind the machinations of Kailis and her allies is criminal energy that cannot be attributed to everyone.
Since the prosecution is clearly part of criminal law, Parliament’s remit ends. The investigation into the incident has not yet been completed. “For this reason, I think we have to wait and see instead of quickly deciding on measures,” says Wieland. The “rules for writing down” that are now being discussed not only distract from the actual work. In the worst case, they can also lead to the fact that interlocutors, such as representatives of a political opposition in authoritarian states, will refuse a meeting because they are afraid that it will be made public.
Wieland is certain of one thing: the bribery scandal could not have been prevented with more transparency. “She certainly wouldn’t have written down the suitcases full of money that Ms. Kaili received,” he says.