On Friday, 14 March, a spokesperson for the European Parliament announced that lobbyists for Huawei have been banned from the EU institution; the Chinese company has stood accused of being behind a corruption scandal involving several MEPs ever since the media outlet Follow The Money published about its investigation (see EUROPE 13599/8).
This was confirmed to Agence Europe: “The Parliament decided, as a precautionary measure, to suspend the access [to the institution] of representatives attached to the Huawei company with immediate effect.”
No MEPs were arrested in the police operation conducted on Thursday, but several MEPS are on the Belgian authorities’ radar. However, two assistants have had their offices searched, according to the media outlet Politico.
For its part, the European Parliament said that it had “taken note of” the latest investigation and is ready to “fully cooperate” if called upon by the Belgian justice system.
France’s Manon Aubry (The Left) declared on X that this case was “the result of the [European] Parliament’s inaction against corruption despite [the] warnings”. She also called for a debate to be held during the next European Parliament plenary session at the end of March.
There is also the issue of the delay in setting up the European ethics committee—whose creation was approved in May 2024—which will be responsible for drawing up common standards on ethics and integrity in public life at the European level (see EUROPE 13400/21). (Original version in French by Isalia Stieffatre)