Meeting in Strasbourg on the evening of Monday 13 March, the Bureau of the European Parliament agreed to the introduction of new rules on the rehiring of former MEPs.
Under the compromise, which will be formally approved at the Bureau meeting in April, MEPs who leave office from May onwards will have to refrain from lobbying the European Parliament for a ‘cooling-off period’ of six months, after which they will have to register with the EU Transparency Register and obtain a specific accreditation badge to carry out their new activities.
Former MEPs will therefore no longer have the permanent badge to which they were previously entitled, nor will their staff members.
“I think the more important thing is that for former MEPs we now have a clear distinction between those who are entering into the Parliament as former MEPs to visit, and therefore in the future they will need daily permission to get access. Currently every former MEP has access to the European Parliament without any registration”, said EPP President Manfred Weber. What matters, he said, is not so much the length of the cooling-off period for MEPs who become lobbyists after their term of office, but rather the future obligation to register with the European Transparency Register.
These decisions are part of a 14-point reform plan, which European Parliament President Roberta Metsola submitted to the Conference of Presidents (CoP) earlier this year in response to the alleged corruption scandal by third countries like Qatar and Morocco (see EUROPE 13097/2).
In April, the Bureau will address the issue of controls on interest groups, including the requirement for them to register in advance with the European Transparency Register in order to participate in parliamentary activities. It will also clarify the rules on access to Parliament’s premises for people of legal age, except for journalists and people from other EU institutions and bodies.
The other proposals from Ms Metsola under discussion are the responsibility of the Committee on Constitutional Affairs as they require an amendment to the European Parliament’s rules of procedure in order to be adopted.
The aim is for this regulation to be revised “before the summer”, according to a parliamentary source.
See the 14 elements of reform as suggested in January by the European Parliament President: https://aeur.eu/f/5rd (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion with Hélène Seynaeve)