The survey of Belgian justice continues to establish responsibilities in the corruption scandal. After Qatar and Morocco, Mauritania seems to have been involved.
by Virginie Malingre (Brussels, European office) and Jean-Pierre Stroobants (Brussels, correspondent)
A month after the first revelations on the “Qatargate”, this corruption scandal which he has proven since he also implied Morocco, Roberta Metsola, the president of the European Parliament, presented to presidents of the political groups of the assembly its reform tracks, Thursday January 12. While the European elections are planned in 2024, the Maltese from the ranks of the European People’s Party (PPE, Conservative) wants to go quickly and hopes that a first series of measures will come into force within a month.
His plan is in fourteen points which aims to better fight against conflicts of interest and prevent third -party states from the third party, such as China, Russia or Qatar. Among other things, M Metsola wants the MEPs systematically to declare the jobs they occupy outside their legislative mandate. Once they leave Parliament, they should not be able to exercise lobbying mission during a period that remains to be determined. “It will be one of the hardest points in negotiation,” says the president.
She also campaigns so that the 705 elected officials and their parliamentary assistants publish all their meetings, as soon as they relate to a legislative text. Today, only commissions presidents and rapporteurs are held there and this obligation does not concern their meetings with representatives of third countries. M Metsola also advocates the abolition of friendship groups between the European Union (EU) and third countries. They exist outside of any framework and are not subject to any control.
“There will be no impunity”
In the immediate future, the president plans to apply the current rules, whose implementation, as revealed by the “Qatargate”, remains random. Thus, while MEPs are required to declare trips not paid by Parliament in non -community countries, they do not systematically.
The last known example is that of the Belgian socialist deputy Marie Arena, who went to Qatar in May 2022 for a seminar entitled “Europe and human rights”, at the expense of the government of Doha, but a omitted to report it. It faces a fine or suspension of its mandate. So far, the European Parliament has almost never sanctioned this type of breaches. “There will be no impunity,” repeated M Me MetSola – it is the presidency that decides sanctions – in December. The case of M me arena should be settled in February.
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