Right and Far-Right Coalition Blocks Creation of EU Ethics Body as Transparency Crisis Deepens

Topics Democracy & Ethics , Transparency Categories Press releases Share On 14 May, the AFCO Committee blocked the creation of the Ethics Body, once again led by the well-known coalition of conservative and far-right forces. The Left in the European Parliament expresses its deep concern and indignation over today’s decision by the conservative and far-right coalition, including the EPP, ECR, PfE, and ESN, to block the establishment of the long-awaited European ethics body. This organism, approved under the previous mandate, was a critical step toward rebuilding citizens’ trust in the European Union following multiple high-profile corruption scandals such as Pfizergate, Qatargate, Moroccogate, and lately Huawei. But once again, it is clear that these political forces are not acting in the interest of European citizens, but in those of private lobbies and opaque power structures. Even more symbolic is the timing of this vote: it comes on the very day the European Court of Justice condemned Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen for her failure to justify why text messages related to COVID-19 vaccine negotiations were deleted and kept from public scrutiny. Left MEP and member of Constitutional affairs Committee Anthony Smith (La France Insoumise, France): “ Corruption scandals are pouring down within European institutions — from the European Parliament all the way to the top of the Commission — creating distrust among citizens. The creation of an ethics body...