The centre-right EPP group said the proposals “would not have prevented abuses like Qatargate”. “The proposal lacks the teeth to apply the same ethics standards across all EU institutions,” she added. German MEP Gabriele Bischoff, vice-president of the left-wing S&D group, accused the Commission of promoting “minimum common standards”, rather than a complete crackdown on rule breakers. “We need an independent ethics body with investigative powers, not a toothless bulldog.” ‘Proposal lacks teeth’

Stéphane Séjourné, president of the liberal Renew group, said: “Europe deserves better than half-baked proposals. The body has only been set a budget of €600,000 – less than half of the €1.5 million seized by the Belgian authorities as part of the Qatargate graft and corruption scandal – meaning it will only have enough funds to hire three employees, and will not have the powers to launch individual investigations into suspected breaches of EU rules or sanction those found guilty. Harsh criticismīut the ethics body has received harsh criticism from europhile MEPs with close links to France’s Emmanuel Macron.

“If we want to remain credible in their eyes, we all need to be subject to common ethical standards,” Vera Jourova, the EU’s justice commissioner, said. There will also be transparency requirements for meetings with lobbyists and former MEPs. The regime will also look into the often lucrative second jobs taken by MEPs, which can often net them more than twice their annual salary and expenses packages worth more than €100,000. Under the plan, rules will be bolstered to crack down on gifts, hospitality and travel offered by third parties. The European Commission published an accelerated blueprint for the body in response to a number of high-profile arrests of MEPs and officials alleged to have taken bribes from Qatar and Morocco in exchange for political influence. Senior MEPs have sounded the alarm on the European Union’s “toothless” new ethics body set up in the wake of the Qatargate corruption scandal.

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