More than a quarter (27%) of the 705 MEPs claim to receive a total of between €3.9 and €11.5 million for activities outside their mandate (‘moonlighting’), according to an analysis published by Transparency International on Wednesday 13 October.
And almost 40 of them potentially earn more than €100,000 per year through this process. This figure may be higher, as MEPs self-declare and they are not subject to institutional checks.
All political groups are implicated. In terms of the amount of income received, the EPP, Renew Europe and S&D Groups are in the lead, according to T&I. The top three MEPs are: - Radosław Sikorski (EPP, Poland), who receives income as an advisor to the Eurasia Group and the Sir Bani Yas Forum; - Sandro Gozi (Renew Europe, Italy), mainly for teaching and consulting activities for the Central Bank of San Marino; - Asger Christensen (Renew Europe, Denmark), who works with the organisation Farmer 2000.
On the other hand, the Identity and Democracy Group has the highest number of MEPs who receive income outside their mandate.
Transparency International acknowledges that this situation is not illegal per se, but the organisation raises the question of possible conflicts of interest. Miapetra Kumpula-Natri (S&D, Finland) is a board member of two energy companies as well as a member of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy, the organisation notes.
And it calls for the creation of a committee on European ethics with adequate competences and resources to guarantee the morality of European public life (see EUROPE 12792/9).
See the T&I analysis: https://bit.ly/3v5JkLL (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)