Europe's lawmakers will no longer be able to accept generous gifts and will have to declare second jobs under new rules agreed in the European Parliament on Thursday, months after reports exposed conflicts of interest at the powerful body.
Members of the 736-seat parliament will be required to provide declarations of paid activities of more than 5,000 euros ($6,765) per year under the new code of conduct, expected to get final approval next month and take effect from January. They will also have to provide information about any potential conflict of interest, such as having held past positions as lobbyists, and will have to decline any gifts worth more than 150 euros.
Breaches could result in sanctions ranging from a simple reprimand to a suspension from the parliament for up to 10 days. "Increased power of the European Parliament must be accompanied by increased responsibility and transparency on behalf of its members," European Parliament President Jerzy Buzek said in a statement. "The code of conduct will provide a strong shield against unethical behaviour."
The new code comes after a Reuters report highlighted conflicts of interest in the European Parliament and a British newspaper exposed lawmakers ready to sell their influence. The rules, adopted by the legislature's Constitutional Affairs Committee on Thursday, will go to a full vote in the parliament next month.
Anti-graft campaigners and transparency groups welcomed the code, but raised concerns over the definition of gifts, saying overseas trips and hotel stays paid for by interest groups or foreign governments would still be allowed under the new rules. "Today's vote to exclude the reimbursement of direct costs from the definition of gifts is a dangerous loophole that could allow corporate hospitality to continue as now," said Alter-EU, a Brussels-based transparency group, in a statement. "We believe that a strict definition of gifts should be reintegrated and adopted," the group said.
The European Parliament has substantial influence in pan-European laws, such as those to intended to reform banking and finance in the economic crisis, but few Europeans take an active interest in the institution. The proportion of the electorate turning out to vote in European Parliament elections has dropped over the last decade with the addition of new EU members such as Poland, where fewer than three in 10 cast their vote.