The European Parliament on Thursday voted overwhelmingly to approve recommendations aimed at strengthening its transparency and integrity, contained in a report presented by its special committee on foreign interference.
The report, which is not binding, was approved by 441 votes to 70 with 71 abstentions. Its adoption marks the end of the work of the special committee, originally set up in 2020 to combat disinformation and attempts at foreign interference.
The committee’s remit took on a new dimension with the ongoing anti-corruption investigation in Brussels, in which three MEPs, a former MEP and a parliamentary assistant are implicated.
Raphaël Glucksmann (S&D, left), chairman of the special committee, called for work to be continued in a standing committee.
The final report sets out a “new approach to security issues” for Parliament and the European institutions, the French MEP told the press. “For a very long time, European institutions have shown naivety and weakness. This report is a major step towards building a stronger EU.”
The special committee is recommending, in particular, greater transparency for MEPs, through the introduction of a declaration of assets at the beginning and end of their term of office, according to its joint rapporteur, Nathalie Loiseau (Renew, Liberals).
Other recommendations include the creation of a register providing information on visits received by elected representatives and their cabinets, and the obligation to provide the names of third parties funding their travel, Ms. Loiseau noted.
She also called for greater security to protect the work of MEPs. "Security has been a dirty word for years in this Parliament,” she lamented. “We were supposed to be an open institution, we have become an institution open to harmful intrusions.”
The special committee called on the EU executive in Brussels to take up the recommendations and make them binding.
When Ursula von der Leyen took over as head of the European Commission in 2019, she announced her intention to create “an independent ethical body” to monitor the “transparency and integrity” of European institutions.
However, this body has not yet seen the light of day, while a proposal currently tabled in Parliament has been judged too weak by the legislative body.
“We are extremely impatient,” said Glucksmann. “The defence of democracy cannot wait.”
