The MEPs of the European Parliament's Committee on Constitutional Affairs (AFCO) unanimously adopted on Thursday 6 December the draft report prepared by Rainer Wieland (EPP, Germany) and Mercedes Bresso (S&D, Italy) on the proposal to introduce financial sanctions for European parties deliberately violating data protection to influence the results of the European elections.
Parliament has thus given the green light to the targeted amendment of the 2014 Regulation on the financing of European political parties, as proposed by the European Commission last September (see EUROPE 12094), to include the possibility of imposing sanctions in the event of manipulation of personal data for political purposes.
As a reminder, the amount of the fines will be 5% of the annual budget of the European Party sanctioned by the Authority for European political parties and European political foundations. Any European party found guilty of violation will not be able to apply for EU co-financing for the current year.
MEPs also insisted on the possibility for the European political party to be heard before a decision is taken. They also included taking into account the ne bis in idem principle, to avoid that the same offence is punished twice, at national and European level.
Interinstitutional negotiations can start once the Council has adopted its position, with the aim of ensuring that the new rules enter into force before the May European elections. (Original version in French by Marion Fontana)