Corporate Europe Observatory, Friends of the Earth Europe, LobbyControl and Transparency International expressed their alarm on Wednesday 5 April about an alleged conflict of interest involving Angelika Niebler (EPP, German) as an MEP in the negotiations in the European Parliament on the proposed ‘due diligence’ directive intended to stop the import of forced labour products (see EUROPE 13027/17).
They point to the fact that Ms Niebler receives a monthly income from a foundation of the German auditing firm TÜV SÜD and the Munich office of the US law firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher.
On the basis of amendments tabled in Ms Niebler’s name to limit the environmental and social responsibility of companies operating outside the EU, the organisations argue that the German Christian Democrat may have a conflict of interest when working on legislation relevant to these companies, a situation she denies.
The four NGOs call on European Parliament President Roberta Metsola to ask the European Parliament’s Advisory Committee on the Code of Conduct for Members to shed light on the matter.
Following the alleged scandal of MEPs being bribed by third countries, in February the European Parliament called for a ban on its members engaging in additional paid activities or employment for organisations or individuals falling within the scope of the European Transparency Register (see EUROPE 13123/4).
See the letter from the four organisations: https://aeur.eu/f/67z (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)