László Trócsányi, an MEP of Hungary’s ruling Fidesz, said the proposal by European institutions to set up an ethics body is a way for them to attempt to cover up corruption cases.
Speaking in Strasbourg on Wednesday, Trócsányi said the European Parliament is scheduled to vote during the day on the establishment of an independent ethics body in response to the corruption scandals uncovered within EU institutions. But the establishment of the body fails to address the fundamental problems, he said, arguing that the scandals in Brussels were criminal rather than ethics cases. Trócsányi said the corruption cases that have plagued Brussels also affected member states. It should be the member states that decide how to proceed in such cases rather than “the Brussels bureaucracy regulating itself to cover up the cases”, he added. He criticized the EU’s response to the “systemic corruption” within the institutions as inadequate, saying that a real solution could not be reached without involving the member states. Trócsányi said it was “unacceptable” that MEPs like Eva Kaili were allowed to vote on the establishment of the ethics body while still being under criminal investigation on suspicion of corruption.
Photo credit: fidesz-eu.hu