Brussels, 29/01/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 29 January, the MEP Inge Grässle (EPP, Germany), a member of the budget control committee of the EP, called into question the European Socialist Party and the President of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz, with allegations of nepotism. She implied that the President has used Parliament funds to help “his political friends”.
In a press release, the EPP MEP refers to the fact that the wife of the president of the European Socialist Party, Sergei Stanishev, allegedly received €60,000 from the European Parliament for her “Active Group” PR consultancy activities. Ms Stanishev stated on 28 January that she had not accepted this money. The MEP is calling for a full clarification of the facts. At the European Parliament, however, sources claim that this subsidy grant had been accepted because it fulfilled all of the criteria. The grant, which relates to activities with children on the theme of the European Union, passed all the control and transparency stages required to be validated, a spokesperson for the institution stated.
It was also noted that at the time (the grant was the subject of an agreement after summer 2013), nobody was aware of the marital status of the applicant, as she had used her maiden name. According to the institution, there are no rules at the Parliament stating that grants cannot be awarded to the spouses of politicians. The grant could therefore also have been awarded if the recipient's marital status had been known. According to other sources, these accusations have more to do with the forthcoming election campaign. And, one observer noted, before this press release was issued, the MEP had already been given all of these explanations last week and the money was not in any case paid out. (SP/transl.fl)