EU Ombudsman lambasts European Parliament

The European Ombudsman yesterday again criticised the European Parliament for not giving precise information to a Maltese journalist who would like to know how the five Maltese MEPs are spending their allowances and who they are employing.

According to the Ombudsman, Nikiforos Diamandouros, the Parliament's continued refusal to give details show it is failing to comply with the law on transparency with regard to the allowances received by MEPs.

In a ruling, following a complaint filed by Matthew Vella, the Ombudsman regretted that the European Parliament is interpreting the law in a way that weakens the principle of transparency and conflicts with a relevant judgment of the European Court.

The compliant goes back to 2005 when the European Parliament rejected the Maltese journalist's request for information about the allowances paid to the five Maltese MEPs on grounds of data protection.

The Ombudsman consulted the European Data Protection Supervisor on the issue, who took the view that, in a transparent and democratic society, the public has a right to be informed about the MEPs' behaviour. However, despite the Ombudsman' recommendation to give the requested details, the European Parliament still refused.

At the same time, the European Parliament announced it would publish general information about the MEPs; allowances on its website and spoke of the possibility of re-assessing the situation in 2009.

The decision was harshly criticised by the Ombudsman. "My role in dealing with this complaint concerned the principle of transparency and not the principle of financial accountability, which is the responsibility of the budget control authorities," Mr Diamandouros said.

"I maintain my finding of maladministration but, unlike the Court, I have no power to annul the European Parliament's decision. I welcome the news that the EP plans to re-asses its position after the entry into force of the new statute for MEPs but that cannot excuse its failure to comply with the law now," the Ombudsman said.

The European Parliament took note of the Ombudsman's remarks and reiterated that it has already adopted a series of major reforms to its system of allowances for MEPs. "These amount to a substantial increase in transparency and will largely address the spirit of the Ombudsman's remarks," the European Parliament said.

Following the next European Parliament elections, next June, a new MEP statute will enter into force, with a common salary coupled with a new system for travel expenses.

Under the present system, MEPs receive the same salary as fellow MPs at home but are given thousands of euros in allowances to employ staff, run their offices and cover travel expenses.

Many are critical of this system and accuse MEPs of abuse.