Three European citizens had asked the European Parliament for access to documents concerning the allowances and expenses paid to Ioannis Lagos and his parliamentary assistants (Case T-375/22).
A leader of the Greek neo-Nazi party Golden Dawn, Mr Lagos was elected as an MEP in 2019 and sentenced in October 2020 to more than thirteen years’ imprisonment for participation in a criminal organisation. Despite the lifting of his parliamentary immunity by the European Parliament (see EUROPE 12707/10), his conviction did not give rise to any communication from the Greek authorities to the Parliament regarding the withdrawal of his mandate.
Citing the regulations on access to documents held by the EU institutions (1049/2001) and on the protection of personal data by the EU institutions and bodies (2018/1725), the European Parliament decided to refuse, in April 2022, to grant the citizens access to the documents requested.
In its judgment, the General Court annulled the Parliament’s decision, thereby giving priority to the public’s right of access to the EU institutions’ documents over the protection of privacy in order to facilitate public scrutiny of the use of public funds and in view of the exceptional circumstances giving rise to the present case.
Despite his conviction for committing serious crimes, and even after his arrest and imprisonment, Mr Lagos remained a Member of the European Parliament and continued to receive allowances corresponding to the exercise of those duties, the Court noted. For the Court, it is legitimate for citizens to want to know for what purpose and where Mr Lagos and his parliamentary assistants have travelled on trips reimbursed by Parliament, after Mr Lagos was convicted but not yet imprisoned.
As for the request for the salary and overheads of Mr Lagos and his parliamentary assistants, this information is already freely available on the European Parliament’s website. However, documents relating to salary and expenditure allowances allow no control over the use made of those sums, given that they are paid automatically or as a lump sum.
To see the Court’s judgment: https://aeur.eu/f/c59 (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)