The ‘cash for influence’ scandal in May, when several MEPs were caught red-handed accepting money for tabling amendments, revealed a blatant lack of ethics regulations.
Since then, Friends of the Earth Europe and ALTER-EU partners have successfully campaigned to set-up a proper code of conduct, to prevent scandals like this from happening again.
In December, the Parliament voted in favour of a new code, which forbids MEPs to hold second jobs that involve lobbying or could create a conflict of interest. Whilst some flaws remain, it introduces stricter rules for the declaration of financial interests.
We’ll be watching the implementation closely, to ensure loopholes do not lead to new abuses.
24/02/12
