Rules on interests finally approved

Date: 18/07/1996

THE way was cleared this week for the European Parliament to bring in new rules later this year on MEPs' financial interests and the conduct of lobbyists.

Both measures were adopted with near record majorities after senior Euro MPs warned that the institution's reputation would be badly undermined if there were any further delays in agreeing the proposals.

An earlier attempt to establish new ground rules failed in January and just 24 hours before yesterday's (17 July) vote, the fate of French Liberal MEP Jean-Thomas Nordmann's report on MEPs' financial interests still hung in the balance.

Faced with a possible split over the carefully worded text on the status of gifts, the report had been hurriedly taken off the agenda - only to be put back on it after last-minute behind-the-scenes negotiations by political group leaders.

“It was a delicate and difficult issue as we had to take account of very different national traditions. What we have agreed as far as gifts are concerned is both a liberal system and one based on confidence. Gifts which are not declared are not allowed,” explained Nordmann.

The new rules aim to close the loopholes in the present arrangements for the Parliament's 626 MEPs.

In future, they will have to make a personal, detailed declaration of their professional activities, any other paid functions or activities and financial or staff support they receive from anywhere except the Parliament. These details will be kept in a register, which will be updated annually and open to the public.

Nordmann's British Socialist colleague Glyn Ford, who steered the lobbying rules through the Parliament, suggested that the new measures on MEPs' interests were stricter than those in some national parliaments.

“Anything MEPs receive has to be recorded. We are not saying they must stop everything, but any support they receive or sponsored trips they take will have to be declared,” he insisted.

Ford's proposals were adopted by 488 votes to one and Nordmann's by 457 to 50.

In future, lobbyists will have to sign a register and comply with a code of conduct in exchange for a pass granting them regular access to MEPs and assistants. The code will be drawn up by the Parliament's rules committee after the summer recess.

“What I would like to see are practical things such as procedures on access to an MEP's office and other elements which will have an impact,” said Ford.

The code is expected to take as its starting point the guidelines which the institution's quaestors already require regular visitors to respect. That 13-point set of instructions is directed at “embassies, consulates, representations of states and regions, commercial organisations and public affairs practitioners dealing with EU institutions”.

Its signatories must not sell documents for profit, nor offer “any financial inducement” to officials or Euro MPs, nor “intentionally misrepresent their status”.

As MEPs continue to bring more transparency into their own dealings, they are also facing demands to clarify the status of their assistants, many of whom live in Belgium in a legal twilight.

Moves to require MEPs to prove to the Parliament that their assistants comply with the host country's legal arrangements on social security, tax and residence were rejected this week.