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The ongoing criminal investigation into corruption, money laundering and membership of criminal organizations that has landed MEPs, aides and lobbyists in pretrial detention is a scandal, a

shock

, but also the consequence

of years of complacency and ignoring "known deficiencies in the ethical framework" of the institution

.

That is what the European Ombudsman, Emily O'Reilly, believes, and she has denounced it this Friday in a very harsh letter.

The Irish woman points to some known problems, such as the fact that the deputies

can and do in fact have other jobs

, or that although there is a record for meetings with duly identified lobbyists (but mandatory only for the presidents of the committees and the

rapporteurs

of the reports), there is not something similar for meetings such as delegations from third countries, from outside the Union.

But you could add

the more than 4,000 euros per month that each member of the Chamber receives for non-justifiable expenses.

.

That the CJEU shield the opacity of the diets of the members at the request of the chamber itself, which did not want to reveal the data to guarantee privacy.

Or that the punishments for violations of the rules are rather mild, either due to illegal practices with the hiring and remuneration of assistants or when journalistic investigations have shown the predisposition of the occupants of the seats to accept money, gifts or simply that lobbyists write the text of their interventions, amendments or legislative proposals.

"The corruption scandal involving the European Parliament is an example, albeit an extreme one, of what happens when a strong ethics and anti-corruption system is seen as an optional measure rather than an integral part of a public institution.

The damage it is causing to the credibility of the European Parliament and the institutional EU in general is immense

", denounced the ombudsman in her opinion forum.

The European Parliament has announced that it will adopt measures to correct these blind spots.

It is evaluating the possibility of restricting access to its facilities to agents from third countries, reinforcing transparency and, perhaps, forcing that in the records (whose compliance in itself is lax) they also include the meetings of all members of the chamber , and not only those of maximum responsibility.

According to data from Transparency International,

25% of MEPs have a second job

, and some of them have a senior, earning them tens or hundreds of thousands of euros.

And many of them with more or less obvious conflicts of interest.

The Code of Conduct is not enough, it does not cover everything it should, it does not address those who leave the house and go to the other side through revolving doors.

And, furthermore, it is not rigorously implemented, as it remains in the hands of the deputies themselves.

"While the vast majority of elected MEPs behave ethically and in the public interest, a weak and porous accountability system can allow non-MEPs, whether MEPs or their staff, to act with impunity

. The scandal has shattered complacency, exposing long-standing flaws

in Parliament's ethical and anti-corruption framework," stresses O'Reilly, who laments in amazement that while "the shock and horror caused by this scandal were predictable" it is hard to believe "that there could be an apparent institutional blindness to the size and value of the EU as a target for corruption."

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