Corruption scandal rocks Parliament again despite years of warnings from The Left

The Left is demanding answers following yet another corruption scandal surrounding at least 15 MEPs investigated by the police in Brussels today.

Despite The Left’s consistent warnings following the Qatargate scandal, very little progress to tighten ethics rules in the European Parliament and crack down on MEPs who accept kickbacks for influence.

The Left is also demanding an open debate on the corruption scandal in the next plenary session at the end of March and the rapid implementation of a Parliamentary Ethics Body to investigate public corruption allegations in European institution. The Parliamentary Ethics Body is currently stalled in committee procedure, which has allowed powerful lobbies and multinational corporations to undermine democracy at the heart of Europe with money, gifts and luxury trips.

Co-chair for The Left Manon Aubry (La France Insoumise, France) said: “Despite repeated warnings from the Left that the EU Parliament is in danger of falling into yet another corruption scandal, almost nothing has been done to prevent it. We urgently need to find out how deep this scandal goes and impose tough ethics and transparency rules or lobbies will continue to slosh money around in the pockets of an increasingly corrupt institution.”

Co-chair for The Left Martin Schirdewan (Die Linke, Germany) said: “Once again, the EU Parliament is in a scandal that could have been avoided if the Left’s repeated warnings were heeded. The full details of any criminality or corrupt practices in the Parliament must be immediately brought to light and met with strong countermeasures to ensure that these kinds of scandals never happen again.”