A stay in a luxury hotel threatens the President of the European Parliament with sanctions
President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola.
Brussels - dpa
The President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, is facing questions over her acceptance of an invitation to stay in a luxury French hotel with her husband, which she did not fully announce to Parliament.
A report in the newspaper "Politico" said on Friday that the costs of staying one night in the hotel, last October, in the "Burgundy" region, were paid by a French association.
A Mitsola spokesman confirmed the information to dpa.
"It was no mistake, no parliamentary president before me took this step," Mitsola said in Saturday's edition of the Handelsblatt newspaper.
Mitsola had announced her trip last week, following the arrest last December by the Belgian police of the deputy speaker of Parliament, Eva Kaili, who is accused of corruption, money laundering and links to organized crime.
However, Mitsola did not reveal that she was accompanied by her Finnish husband, Yoko, on the trip.
According to parliamentary rules, Metsola should have reported the trip at the end of November last year.
According to "Politico", Metsola, who is from the Christian Democratic Party, traveled from Malta to France according to an appointment with the aforementioned association, and she was provided with accommodation in a five-star hotel, and part of the trip consisted of a five-course dinner.
It is not yet clear if Metsola is threatened with consequences.
Theoretically, it could be sanctioned, however there is no specific mechanism, because the President of the European Parliament is responsible for imposing sanctions on its members.
Mitsola also announced that it received 125 gifts last week alone, which is also illegal.
This was announced a few days ago.
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