Meeting for its plenary session in Strasbourg on Thursday 13 July, the European Parliament adopted a series of recommendations aimed at protecting the integrity of MEPs' work, with 441 votes in favour, 70 against and 71 abstentions.
The report, drawn up by Vladimír Bilčík (EPP, Slovakian) and Nathalie Loiseau (Renew Europe, French), focuses on two areas: increasing the transparency of parliamentary activities and strengthening the “security culture” within the EU institution. The aim, said Ms Loiseau, is to remedy “our fellow citizens’ doubts about our integrity and the interference of malicious foreign actors in our decision-making processes” (see EUROPE 13175/23, 13164/26).
“To remain an open Parliament, we must safeguard our own safety and security. We must maintain – and this is crucial – the freedom of our respective mandates, but hand in hand with that go also some basic sets of rules”, added Mr Bilčík.
Gap period and secondary jobs
Although the text, which covers conflicts of interest and rules governing missions abroad, as well as the introduction of security clearances and the protection of the European Parliament’s infrastructure, received a large majority, several political groups had tabled amendments.
In particular, the S&D, Greens/EFA and The Left groups have called for the cooling-off period to be extended from 6 to 24 months, during which a former MEP may not lobby the European Parliament (see EUROPE 13164/26). This proposal was ultimately rejected by a majority of Renew Europe, the EPP, the ECR and ID.
The same groups also put to the vote a ban on MEPs taking up paid secondary employment with organisations listed in the European Transparency Register. Despite opposition from the EPP and Renew Europe, the amendment was adopted.
“You can’t be a Member of the European Parliament and a lobbyist at the same time”, said Andreas Schieder (S&D, German) ahead of the vote. “Sadly, when it comes to MEPs’ own financial interests, not only the far-right, but also the centre-right and the liberals’ support for ambitious reforms seem to collapse”.
The positions taken by the political groups in plenary on this resolution, which is not legally binding, allow us to take the temperature of the negotiations underway on the reform of the European Parliament’s rules of procedure, which are aimed precisely at strengthening the ethics of political life (see EUROPE 13220/28). This reform requires an absolute majority of MPs for an amendment to be adopted.
The Greens/EFA group’s desire to extend the existing ban on MEPs holding paid secondary jobs during their term of office is unlikely to succeed, Gwendoline Delbos-Corfield (Greens/EFA, French) admitted to EUROPE on Thursday. The same applies, she added, to the extension of the waiting period and the abolition of travel paid for by others, the latter measure meeting with resistance even within her group.
NGO transparency
The European Parliament was also divided on the issue of transparency obligations for NGOs. For Ms Loiseau, they must make “the same effort” as MEPs to be able to work with them.
The trio of left-wing groups then tabled two amendments. The first, stressing that “measures requiring NGOs to disclose their sources of funding” must take account of the security of those operating in authoritarian countries, was adopted by just two votes (285 in favour, 283 against). The second, which reiterated a similar idea, was rejected by just five votes (281 in favour, 286 against). In both cases, the EPP and Renew Europe made up the majority of MEPs opposed.
Finally, the debate on the text was also the scene of clashes between political lines. For example, ID tried – unsuccessfully – to introduce provisions clarifying the S&D’s role in ‘Qatargate’. And The Left felt that by describing China and Russia as countries with “high risk”, the report established “double standards regarding corruption and interference”.
A political message
In the end, the text as a whole was supported by all the political groups, with the exception of ID and part of the EPP and The Left, which voted against or abstained.
Beyond the relative consensus, the ‘Bilčík/Loiseau’ report is primarily intended to suggest medium- or long-term directions, while sending out a political signal in response to the ‘Qatargate’ scandal. Of the MEPs involved, Marc Tarabella (S&D, Belgian) voted in favour of the report, while Eva Kaili (S&D, Greek), who was present in Strasbourg, did not take part in the vote.
At the same time, the Committee on Constitutional Affairs (AFCO) is working on effective reforms to the European Parliament's Rules of Procedure. The draft report by Gabriele Bischoff (S&D, German) represents a minimum “common denominator” achieved after difficult negotiations between the parties. Amendments to this report must be tabled by Thursday 20 July, with a view to votes in the AFCO Committee and the plenary session in September.
The President of the Parliament, Roberta Metsola, is pushing hard for this reform, which is supposed to provide tangible proof that the European Parliament has tightened its ethical rules in response to the ‘Qatargate’ scandal and in good time for the European elections in June 2024.
Report adopted: https://aeur.eu/f/827 (Hélène Seynaeve, with Mathieu Bion)