The EU parliament must “restore the confidence of the European citizens we represent”, said the Maltese member of the conservative EPP Group. In return, she wants to “prohibit all activities” that could be confused with the official activities of Parliament. By that Metsola likely meant the proposal of his previously announced 14-point plan to ban unofficial “friendship groups” with third countries.
Members of the EU Parliament can create a so-called friendship group for exchange with a non-EU country. These groups are “sometimes funded by lobbyists or foreign governments”, according to Parliament, and are not official bodies of the House.
Metsola’s reform plans, which became known last week, also stipulate that EU Parliament deputies and staff must make public “all planned meetings with third parties” in connection with parliamentary decisions. There is also provision for a public register of offers received by Members and of trips financed by them.
Metsola’s proposals do not go far enough for the Greens and the Left in the European Parliament. Ahead of the start of the plenary week, they also called for better protections for whistleblowers and other measures.
In addition to Metsola, lawmakers also spoke out in favor of stricter transparency rules soon after the allegations became known. In December, a majority of lawmakers demanded that parliamentary access passes for lobbyists representing Qatari interests be turned off for the time being.
MEPs also wanted official representatives from third countries, such as diplomats, to have To with the EU’s transparency register. So far, this has only applied to companies or organizations from non-EU countries. Parliament has suspended planned talks with member states on visa facilitation for Qatari citizens.
In early December, Belgian investigators searched the private rooms and offices of lawmakers on suspicion of corruption and confiscated nearly 1.5 million euros. The then deputy speaker of Parliament Eva Kaili and her partner Francesco Giorgi, who also works in Parliament, were arrested along with two other suspects and are in custody.
They are accused of money laundering and corruption. The Emirate of the Gulf of Qatar and Morocco are said to have tried to influence EU policies with cash donations. Both countries firmly reject the allegations.
In Strasbourg, Metsola also officially announced the Belgian authorities’ request for the waiver of immunity for two deputies. They are Belgian MEP Marc Tarabella and Italian MEP Andrea Cozzolino. Both belong to the Social Democrats. At the beginning of January, Parliament had already announced the start of an urgent procedure.
Metsola forwarded the motion to Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee. This can schedule a hearing and make a recommendation. The entire plenary then decides on the withdrawal of the immunity of the deputies.
At Tarabella, investigators also searched their private rooms during several raids in December. On Sunday, her lawyer also told Belgian broadcaster RTL that Tarabella took a trip to the Gulf state paid for by Qatar in February 2020, but failed to report that trip to the EU Parliament as required.
Until recently, Giorgi, one of the main suspects in the corruption scandal, worked for Italian deputy Cozzolino.