MEPs meeting in Strasbourg on Wednesday 15 March debated the need for an immediate reform of the Commission’s internal rules to ensure transparency, after its Director-General for Transport, Henrik Hololei, in the midst of negotiating an aviation agreement with Qatar (see EUROPE 13135/18), accepted that several of his trips to the Gulf country were paid for by Doha.
Some MEPs, such as Karima Delli (Greens/EFA, French), expressed their incomprehension that the format of this type of mission – and its financing – could be validated without external control by the sole participant.
“It does not seem appropriate to me that a Director-General of the Commission should travel nine times, all expenses paid, to Qatar, in the middle of negotiating an aviation agreement with that country. Nor do I think it is appropriate that travel procedures can be validated by the Director-General himself. Nor do I think it is appropriate for agreements to be in force when they have not been ratified by the Parliament and adopted by the Council”, insisted Karima Delli (see EUROPE 13111/5).
On this point, the Commissioner for Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union, Mairead McGuinness, briefly recalled: “On 7 March, with immediate effect, it was decided that Directors-General will now have to seek the approval of their Head of Cabinet and their Commissioner when dealing with third party missions” (see EUROPE 13136/13).
In addition to this aspect, a significant number of MEPs insisted on the need for a control mechanism. “The real question is who controls the controllers”, summarised Ciarán Cuffe (Greens/EFA, Irish).
“We made a bold proposal in the wake of 'Qatargate' (see EUROPE 13123/4) to delegate the checks on ourselves to an independent body. We call on the Commission to do the same and to set up a High Ethics Authority that would be common to all the institutions”, stressed Gilles Boyer (Renew Europe, French).
The Left Group’s reading and demands are the same. “We cannot be satisfied with a self-auditing system. We want an independent ethics body”, agreed Leïla Chaibi (French).
A large number of MEPs finally asked the Commission to propose measures on this subject as soon as possible. “Transparency was one of Ursula von der Leyen’s priorities. This is the time to roll up our sleeves to deliver on the programme she set out and to deliver on the promises she made. I hope that the Commission will finally be able to present the measures we have been waiting for a long time”, concluded Pedro Marques (S&D, Portuguese). (Original version in French by Thomas Mangin)