The EU Parliament has been rocked by a corruption scandal since December. Since then, President Metsola has been cleaning up the place. Now she is making several dozen gifts public.
EU Parliament President Roberta Metsola has received around 140 gifts since the beginning of last year. The top politician disclosed the information on the website of the European Parliament.
“The President accepts gifts on behalf of the institution. She does not keep them,” said a spokesman for Metsola when asked by the German Press Agency. According to the information, the gifts include a scarf, books and wine.
According to Parliament’s internal rules, gifts should actually be reported by the last day of the month following receipt at the latest. Anyone who violates these rules does not have to be penalized. The Code of Conduct only stipulates that sanctions can be imposed in the event of violations.
Metsola only wanted to disclose the gifts at the end of the mandate, as has been done by other presidents, said her spokesman. “Now we’re trying to be as transparent as possible.”
According to the information, the gifts were reported a week ago. In addition to Metsola, only a handful of MPs have disclosed gifts in the relevant list since the beginning of 2020, including many Germans. Among them are the Green politician Hannah Neumann, Nicola Beer (FDP) as well as David McAllister and Daniel Caspary (both CDU).
“Metsola breaks the rule-breaking tradition”
German MEP Daniel Freund praised the actions of the President of Parliament. “Metsola is breaking with the rule-breaking tradition of former parliamentary speakers of simply not declaring gifts. This transparency in dealing with gifts is correct,” said the Green politician. The time delay is a blemish.
The EU Parliament has been rocked by a corruption scandal since December. The judiciary charged, among other things, with the then Vice-President of Parliament Eva Kaili of participation in a criminal organization, money laundering and corruption. It is about alleged influence on political decisions of the EU Parliament by Qatar and Morocco.
Kaili remains in detention
Meanwhile, Kaili remains in detention. That was decided by the competent court, as the public prosecutor announced. Accordingly, the Greek now has 24 hours to take action against the decision. Kaili’s lawyer had previously affirmed that his client was innocent.
The lawyer criticized the Belgian authorities for their interim conditions of detention. “The conditions in the police cell in Brussels are reminiscent of the Middle Ages,” Michalis Dimitrakopoulos told the international media. “It’s all torture.” Dimitrakopoulos claimed Kaili was in solitary confinement and deprived of sleep.
Source: Stern
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