European Parliament: Current practices “open the door to corruption”

Laura Nordström, a researcher in European institutions, lobbyists and advisors at the University of Helsinki, tracks the evolution of the European Parliament’s transparency record. The political science professor stresses in statements to Expresso that the system has flaws that “harm the democratic responsibility” of the European body. “The surprising thing is that even if Parliament demands more transparency, it is still not necessary for all MPs to report on lobbying meetings. Even if key MEPs do so according to the rules, this must be monitored. From a transparency and accountability point of view, All meetings must be recorded. ‘Catargate’ has highlighted these and other gaps in compliance with the European Parliament’s Code of Conduct, and despite declarations of intent by Roberta Metsola, who heads the institution, analysts and MEPs agree that the network is not narrow enough to avoid the practices for the most part. In cases, the mechanisms depend on the voluntary initiative of parliamentarians.