The leader of Patriots for Europe group has urged fellow Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) to create a European Parliament committee dedicated to investigating corruption and ensuring greater transparency and accountability within the EU.
This call follows a series of corruption scandals, including an ongoing investigation into alleged influence peddling linked to the Chinese tech company Huawei.
In an email made public by Daniel Freund (Germany/Greens), Jordan Bardella emphasized that the proposed committee could look into “allegations of corruption, money-laundering, abuse of power, undue interference in legislative processes” and other violations of the rule of law in the EU institutions.
The call follows the recent scandal involving five individuals charged in a corruption investigation connected to Huawei, which is suspected by Belgian prosecutors of bribing EU lawmakers to promote its commercial interests in Europe. Huawei has stated that it “maintains a zero-tolerance stance against corruption,” is “fully committed to complying with all applicable laws and regulations,” and would “urgently communicate” with investigators.
This comes after a major scandal in 2019 involved allegations that officials, lobbyists, and their families were influenced by the governments of Qatar, Morocco, and Mauritania, engaging in corruption and money laundering activities.
“EU institutions must operate with full transparency and accountability, and the rules of law should be upheld by all EU institutions and agencies,” Bardella’s said in his email. Lawmakers have until April 23 to sign up for Bardella’s initiative. The decision to establish a committee, including its membership, will be made by the European Parliament, based on a proposal from the Conference of Presidents, which includes the leaders of the various political groups.
