Parliament’s Right-Wing Majority Targets EU Ethics Body

Right-wing and far-right Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) opposed the initiative, employing a procedural tactic to delay progress. The Patriots for Europe, European Conservatives and Reformists, and the European People’s Party (EPP) argued that before the Parliament can officially engage with the ethics body, its own rules of procedure must first be amended.

The Socialists and Democrats, Renew, and the Greens advocated for submitting a list of nominees for the ethics body’s expert group to Parliament President Roberta Metsola and the vice-president overseeing the ethics body. | Janos Kummer/Getty Images

Daniel Freund, a Green MEP who led the negotiations on creating the ethics body in the previous legislative term, dismissed the argument about procedural changes. “It’s not true that the Parliament needs to amend its internal rules to engage with the body,” he said, accusing the EPP of previous attempts to weaken or block the initiative entirely.

Concerns have also been raised about Sven Simon, who spearheaded the EPP’s opposition to the ethics body in the last term and currently chairs the Constitutional Affairs Committee. Some lawmakers worry that Simon may seek to dismantle the initiative altogether.

MEP Juan Fernando López Aguilar, the Socialists & Democrats’ representative in the committee, warned that Simon could use his position as chair to obstruct the implementation of the ethics body agreement.

“What’s most concerning is that the EPP has openly formed a majority alliance with the three far-right groups to object to or delay the agreement’s implementation,” Aguilar said.

However, speaking to POLITICO from his office, Simon insisted that he would remain “neutral and objective” in his role as chair, emphasizing the need to clarify who has the authority to nominate the advisory experts for the body.

Once the Constitutional Affairs Committee reaches an agreement, the proposed changes to the rules of procedure must be ratified by the full Parliament. However, they could still face opposition from the so-called “Venezuela majority” during the plenary vote.