The Bureau of the European Parliament yesterday on Monday decided to ban former MEPs from lobbying this body for six months after the end of their terms of office, which was the first reaction to Qatargate.

“Following the approval by the chairs of the political groups of the parliament of the reform plan proposed by the president (Robert Metsola), the bureau has taken the first implementation decision revising the applicable rules for former members of the European Parliament,” the press service said in a statement. exemption from the institution of the European Parliament.

The decision, effective May 1, amends the current rules, introduced in 1999, on the privileges granted to former MEPs in the aftermath of the Cathargate scandal that erupted in December.

MEPs were involved in this case, as well as former Italian MEP Antonio Panzeri, who became the head of a non-governmental organization and admitted that he was among the “leaders of a criminal organization” associated “with Qatar and Morocco.”

Further measures

The scandal prompted European Parliament President Roberta Metzola to announce reforms. The first decision, passed Monday yesterday, establishes a “waiting period” of six months during which former MPs will not have the right to lobby the body.

“After this period, if former MEPs decide to engage in lobbying or representation activities in the European Parliament, they will have to register in the Transparency Register. Therefore, they will not receive the access rights and benefits offered to them because they were former members,” the bureau emphasizes in a statement.

In the text published yesterday, the European Parliament also clarifies that further measures will be considered in the coming weeks, in particular for the “participation of representatives of interest groups in events organized by Parliament”, while “at the same time, the implementation of a number of measures requiring amendments to the Regulation, continues.”

Source: APE-MPE, AFP.