Top EU policymakers have pledged to overhaul ethical standards in the wake of the European parliament’s bribery scandal, tackling a culture of “impunity” that some former MPs have warned will be difficult to eradicate.
Věra Jourová, vice-president of the European Commission for values and transparency, told the Financial Times that she will use the scandal that has shaken Brussels “to do the right thing” by pushing for reforms to ensure “the highest standards of integrity and independence” throughout the EU. institution.
Belgian police are investigating bribery allegations involving European parliamentarians and representatives of the governments of Qatar and Morocco, arresting four suspects so far, including the former vice-president of the legislature. The scandal spread on Monday, after it emerged that Belgian prosecutors had asked parliament to lift the immunity of two other members.
Jourová wants to set up an independent ethics body, improve regulatory transparency and harmonize standards across all EU arms. “It is critical to have strong, enforceable rules covering all institutions – and not allowing for exemptions,” said Jourová, who led the commission’s work on protecting EU democracy from foreign interference.
However, he faces skepticism from some in Brussels that efforts to strengthen ethics rules will bear fruit. “The proof of the pudding is in the eating,” said Michiel van Hulten, former MEP and current director of Transparency International. “What if the scandal has passed the parliament will maintain the momentum and implement the reforms.”
Prior to the scandal, parliament had been singled out for its poor record of enforcing existing ethical standards.
A voluntary register of gifts for the current parliamentary term shows that only eight out of 705 MEPs have now declared anything. While MEPs are also meant to declare their financial interests, this is only subject to limited checks aimed at creating “public confidence”, according to a report by the European Court of Auditors from 2019.
Mohammed Chahim, a Dutch MEP, described an environment where lobbyists “harass people in the corridors”. He added: “We have rules but they are quite voluntary.”
A 2018 report from Transparency International found that only 24 alleged breaches of the parliamentary code of conduct had been reported since its launch in 2012, with only one case sanctioned. Nearly a third of MEPs were also found to have outside jobs.
“There is a problem with impunity – people do not ask for sanctions and feel invulnerable,” said Daniel Freund, a German MEP who previously worked with Transparency International, included in the report. “The biggest problem with ethical frameworks is that all institutions are independent, and have no incentive to break the rules.”
The current scandal erupted last month when Eva Kaili, a Greek MEP and former vice president, and three others were indicted on charges of corruption, money laundering and participation in a criminal organization for allegedly receiving cash and other gifts to influence EU policy towards Qatar. and Morocco, according to legal documents seen by the FT.
The Belgian Ministry of Justice has announced that the current investigation began in March 2021 and is approaching the scale of an organized crime investigation. Kaili’s lawyer says she denies the allegations.
The main test of the upcoming reforms will be whether the supposed EU ethics enforcers are truly independent and have teeth, said Alberto Alemanno, professor of EU Law at HEC Paris and founder of The Good Lobby, adding that enforcement must move from “a. political responsibility ” for “legal responsibility”.
“I don’t think there’s much political appetite to make this change,” the professor said.
European parliament president Roberta Metsola said in December that she would create a new sanctions regime and strengthen whistleblower protection as part of a package of measures to respond to bribery allegations that she described as an “attack” on European democracy. His proposal is expected this month.
However, the problem is not confined to parliament. The commission is also under fire over its officials’ “revolving door” with the private sector, prompting the European ombudsman, Emily O’Reilly, to warn that failure to control the practice could undermine public trust in EU institutions.
Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has long called for the creation of a general ethics body, but it is unclear whether it will be limited to an advisory role or perhaps investigate on its own initiative and impose sanctions.
Metsola’s spokeswoman pointed to previous calls from parliament for a body that would be independent and have the power to punish unethical behavior in all EU institutions. “The goal is for parliamentarians, commissioners, and other high officials to follow the same ethical rules,” he said.
Metsola’s proposal includes a new mandatory transparency register of all meetings with third country actors by MEPs or assistants, along with a new sanctions regime to ensure compliance.
The idea of mandatory registration has been blocked by parliament in recent years, but MEPs argue that such registration would impose de facto restrictions on who can meet, which would hinder parliamentary work.