26 November 2024,   20:24
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European Parliament members could be barred from lobbying for two years after leaving office

European Parliament members could be barred from lobbying for two years after leaving office under a revamp of the body’s lobbying and transparency rules set to be proposed this week by Parliament President Roberta Metsola, whose institution is reeling from the Qatargate corruption scandal.

According to two people in Parliament briefed on the matter, Metsola will offer 14 proposals in total. In addition to the temporary lobbying ban, the proposals — seen by POLITICO — will also oblige anyone entering Parliament’s two seats in Brussels and Strasbourg to declare who they are meeting, bar MEPs’ unofficial friendship groups with non-EU countries and require MEPs to provide data about their other sources of income.

The Parliament’s credibility took a battering in December when Belgian authorities launched a probe into current and former MEPs accused of taking bribes in exchange for favors from Qatar and Morocco.

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