Parliament strengthens integrity, independence and accountability 

A set of wide-ranging reforms aimed at strengthening integrity, independence and accountability, while protecting the free mandate of MEPs, has been adopted over the last months, EU affairs.

These measures aim to reinforce integrity and close loopholes to protect the Institution and its Members from attempts to interfere in Parliament’s work.

European Parliament President Roberta Metsola said: “The reforms we have put in place in the last months boost the integrity of Parliament's systems, make decision-making more transparent and strengthen the Parliament as a whole. We want to consolidate trust with the European citizens and re-affirm the European Parliament as an open institution. Next year we will return with a more modern and more efficient Parliament.”

Closing loopholes

The Bureau approved revised rules on former members (new revolving door policy), new rules on access to the Parliament, and transparency obligations on interest representatives’ participation in events held on Parliament’s premises. It also agreed on a revision of the internal rules on whistleblowing.

Parliament has also reinforced its cooperation with national judicial and law enforcement authorities by swiftly acting upon requests by national authorities, among others for waiver of parliamentary immunity.

Separately, group leaders clarified the rules regarding human rights urgency debates in plenary to protect the procedure from undue interference. Following resolutions in December 2022 and January 2023, group leaders in the Conference of Presidents also approved guidelines to support MEPs and staff in their relations with third country representatives (diplomats and state representatives). Parliament has finally seen its call for an ambitious and independent EU ethics body answered as the Commission has presented the proposal for an interinstitutional agreement. The President has taken the lead on negotiations for a result that reflects Parliament’s ambitions.

In parallel, changes to the Parliament’s rules of procedure have been proposed by the constitutional affairs committee. They include: wider scope of mandatory declarations of members about of meetings with third parties; a ban on the activities of informal friendship groups that could result in confusion with official parliamentary activities; clearer rules to help avoid conflicts of interest and increased transparency in the financial declarations of members. The committee also proposes a strengthened role for the advisory committee on the code of conduct and a revised list of sanctions. The final vote on these measures will take place in the September plenary.

The measures respond to plenary resolutions calling for an increase in transparency and accountability as well as a stronger culture of security regarding foreign interference attempts.

Further recommendations

Other medium and long-term measures have been proposed by the special committee on foreign interference in all democratic processes in the European Union, including disinformation, which were debated and voted on during the July 2023 plenary session.

Easily accessible information

Parliament’s website now provides centralised and easily accessible information related to the integrity of parliamentary work under a new Transparency and Ethics tab.

Advances in anti-harassment policies

President Metsola mandated the quaestors to work on proposals to reinforce Parliament’s anti-harassment policies. The Bureau decided on 10 July to establish a mediation service and gave its political backing to the introduction of mandatory training for MEPs. The Bureau also agreed to improve the existing procedure of the Advisory Committee dealing with harassment complaints concerning members.

Awareness raising and training

To accompany all the changes and ensure their proper implementation, Parliament runs regular awareness-raising campaigns on obligations for MEPs and staff. It offers dedicated training to staff and members to ensure everyone has a clear understanding of the ethics and transparency requirements that are in place to safeguard the integrity of parliamentary work.

Modernization of Parliament’s ways of working

In addition, a wider reform of the Parliament's way of working was launched by the Conference of Presidents in January 2023 covering the legislative, budgetary, scrutiny, plenary and external dimensions of Parliament's work.

An overview of the reforms is available here.

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