Relato integral dos debates

Quinta-feira, 16 de Setembro de 2021 - Estrasburgo

2. Comunicação dos resultados da votação

   (Abstimmungsergebnisse und sonstige Einzelheiten der Abstimmung: siehe Protokoll.)

– Nach der Bekanntgabe der Abstimmungsergebnisse:

Die Präsidentin. – Bevor wir zu den Aussprachen kommen, möchte ich Daniel Freund das Wort erteilen, der beantragt hat, sich gemäß Artikel 159 Absatz 4 GO zu seinem Bericht über die Verbesserung von Transparenz und Integrität in den Organen der EU durch die Einsetzung eines unabhängigen Ethikgremiums der EU (2020/2133(INI) (A9-0260/2021) zu äußern.

  Daniel Freund, rapporteur. – Madam President, two years ago this House defended the integrity of the EU institutions when we were examining the Commissioner candidates. Three of those candidates were rejected because of conflicts of interest. Those conflicts, of course could have reduced the ability to do politics in the best interest of European citizens, so two years ago we made European politics cleaner, more trustworthy and more upright. Today, again, we have the chance to make European politics more transparent, because we’re voting today on this report to establish an independent EU ethics body.

This should clearly send the message: EU politics is not for sale. Good rules need independent control to be clearly enforced.

Some might argue that the rules that we have on lobbying, on conflicts of interest, on revolving doors are already really good, and I would agree. Brussels is leading by example on this. But in the past we have also witnessed that these good rules are not properly enforced. Our rules did not stop Adam Farkas, for example, from switching right from Banking Supervisor to chief lobbyist for the banking industry. Our rules have also not stopped former Commissioner Oettinger from accepting 17 new jobs during his cooling-off period, seven of which are for organisations on the EU lobby register, including his own lobby consultancy.

Our rules failed because the current system of self-policing does not work. If former top officials start their own lobby business, it automatically creates the impression that politics are for sale. And that has really bad consequences – we all know that, we hear it in our constituencies – and the few black sheep should not ruin all the good and hard work that all of us do here every day. So I hope that a large majority of this House will today accept this report and that we can then start the negotiations with the other institutions on this.

  Die Präsidentin. – Die Abstimmung findet heute zu einem späteren Zeitpunkt statt.