On Tuesday, Parliament held a debate with the Commission on the suspicions of corruption by Qatar and the broader need for more transparency in the EU institutions.
Opening the debate, Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson, said there must be zero tolerance for corruption. Applauding the work of the Belgian prosecutors, law enforcement, alongside EP President Roberta Metsola, MEPs and officials, for their full support and decisive action, she called the allegations extremely serious. To anyone accepting payoffs, she said: “Shame on you. Shame on you for violating trust. Trust of the people of Europe who expect you to fight for their interests. For violating the trust of your colleagues who work very hard and truthfully”.
Johansson announced that the Commission will propose in 2023 a new law that criminalises all forms of corruption in all member states, not just bribery but also illicit enrichment, embezzlement and abuse of power, with tough penalties.
“Corruption destroys institutions”
MEPs expressed their shock, sadness and anger about the “greed of some individuals”, acting like they were in a “bad Netflix film”, damaging the image of the House and “casting a dark shadow on all of us”. Corruption destroys institutions, they said, making it clear that they want to fight to restore trust in the European Parliament. “Criminal behaviour of a few individuals cannot undermine the work of an immense majority” of MEPs working for the European citizens, they said.
MEPs called for a full internal investigation, cooperation with Belgian authorities and additional measures to prevent similar cases in the future. Better rules on transparency, adding third countries to the EU’s lobbying register, robust implementation of ethics rules and setting-up of an independent EU ethics body as well as a separate committee of inquiry, were some of the proposals mentioned during the debate.
Several MEPs wanted to disband Parliamentary delegations and transfer their roles to standing committees. “We see clearly here today, that there is no tolerance for corruption,” MEPs said.
You can watch the full debate here. MEPs will vote on a resolution on Thursday.
