On Tuesday 14 July, the European Parliament’s Committee on Budgetary Control (CONT) noted that the far-right PfE group had committed financial irregularities amounting to more than €277,000 in the second half of 2024, following on from those uncovered in the accounts of the ‘Identity and Democracy’ (ID) group, its predecessor, during the previous term (see EUROPE 13674/29).
The irregularities identified include the granting of financial assistance to local political organisations, failure to comply with public procurement rules and disguised subsidies through the purchase of advertising in political communication media outlets.
A majority made up of the EPP, ECR, PfE and ESN groups supported sending Parliament President Roberta Metsola a letter from the CONT committee which, according to the S&D group, “merely notes the irregularities without drawing any further conclusions as to personal responsibility or the consequences to be drawn from them”.
In a press release, the Chair of the parliamentary committee, Andreas Schwab (EPP, German), stressed the procedural nature of this letter, which in no way constitutes “a ‘political discharge’ for the PfE group. The identified irregularities must be fully remedied, and the sum of €277,079.08 must be repaid”, he said.
“When the committee, under the leadership of the EPP, examined last September the multi-million fraud committed by the ID group that preceded it, it acted with the utmost severity, and rightly so. The fact that political consideration is now suddenly being shown towards this same fraud, committed by the same actors and according to the same pattern, is therefore devoid of any objective basis”, Jens Geier (S&D, German) criticised in a press release. He denounced the EPP group’s refusal to set up a serious inquiry. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)