One year after Qatargate, Ombudsman highlights remaining concerns about Parliament’s new ethics framework

Following a series of exchanges with the European Parliament on its post-Qatargate ethics reforms, European Ombudsman Emily O'Reilly (pictured) acknowledges significant progress in strengthening the rules but concerns remain about their implementation and enforcement. A credible ethics framework requires adequate resources, rigorous implementation and strong enforcement but it is not yet clear that these elements are in place. The Ombudsman urges Parliament to put them in place as quickly as possible to reassure the European public ahead of next June's elections.

As the self-regulation model remains largely intact, citizens need to be confident that it can work. The reform package includes some welcome improvements such as a more detailed definition of conflict of interest and the obligation on Members to publish all meetings organised with registered lobbyists and with diplomatic representatives from non-EU countries.

Three issues remain of particular concern: Firstly, it is not clear how Parliament will monitor and enforce the new rules, such as the post-mandate cooling-off period for MEPs and the obligation to register meetings with lobbyists. Secondly, although the committee that monitors MEPs’ compliance with the Code of Conduct has been given a more proactive role, certain details remain unclear including how in practice the committee will receive and act on ‘signals’ concerning alleged wrongdoing by MEPs.

Finally, the Ombudsman noted the inadequate transparency of the reform process itself, in particular regarding decisions adopted by its Bureau—a body that lays down rules for the Parliament. In future, the public should be able to scrutinise internal decisions of significant public interest.

“The Qatargate scandal undermined the reputation of the European Parliament in the eyes of many EU citizens. Ahead of the European elections next year, the Parliament must now show that it is doing everything in its power to protect its integrity and credibility. The new stronger ethics rules are a good starting point but the rules are only as good as their implementation and enforcement. My aim is to encourage the Parliament to continue the process of reform needed to ensure a strong ethical culture and an enforcement regime worthy of citizens’ trust,” said the Ombudsman.

Background

First reported in December 2022, the Qatargate scandal involves allegations that non-EU countries tried to buy influence in the Parliament. In January 2023, the Ombudsman asked the Parliament for more information on how it intended to reform its ethics and transparency framework in the wake of this scandal. She also later provided input on the 14-point proposal for reform presented by the Parliament’s President, Roberta Metsola. The Parliament adopted several changes including to its Rules of Procedure and to Members’ Code of Conduct in September 2023. These changes strengthened the rules around the transparency of MEPs’ declarations of private interests, conflicts of interests, and declarations of meetings with interest representatives. There is also now a six-month cooling-off period for former MEPs and a new ‘transparency webpage’ on the Parliament’s website.

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