Declaration of financial interests
Encyclopedia
Declarations of financial interests are a means of making conflict of interest
s
of people in public office known and to reduce them by making them public.
(MEPs) are required to declare their financial interests or assets that could create a situation of conflict in the performance of their duties.
As in a majority of the Member States, Members of the European Parliament have an obligation to declare their financial interests at the moment of taking office as well as orally when a Member has an interest in one of the issues being debated at a sitting.
Members of the European Parliament are also required to update their declaration of financial interests every year. Their declarations are included in the public register kept by the Quaestors. The register is public and may be consulted by anyone in Parliament's three places of work (Strasbourg
, Luxembourg
and Brussels
) via the Internet
on the MEP's page in the online register.
In vote on March 11, 1999, about the report A4-0070/99 (Corbett, Gutiérrez Diaz, Palacio Vallelersundi) was adopted, numerous changes to the Rules of Procedure of the European Parliament designed to enable Parliament to adjust to the workings of the Amsterdam Treaty
have been adopted:
MEPs voted to tighten the rules relating to the declaration of financial interests. The rule thus stipulates that the names of members who have not completed the register within the due time limit will be published in the minutes after due warning. The rule then goes on to state "if the member continues to refuse to submit the declaration after the infringement has been published, the President shall take action in accordance with Rule 124 to suspend the member concerned."
The original proposal to oblige members to declare all benefits above .100 was not approved, but another amendment designed to exclude members not completing the register from office in the Parliament did go through as did the amendment obliging chairmen of intergroups and other unofficial grouping to declare all forms of financial or secretarial support.
Conflict of interest
A conflict of interest occurs when an individual or organization is involved in multiple interests, one of which could possibly corrupt the motivation for an act in the other....
s
of people in public office known and to reduce them by making them public.
European Parliament
Members of the European ParliamentMember of the European Parliament
A Member of the European Parliament is a person who has been elected to the European Parliament. The name of MEPs differ in different languages, with terms such as europarliamentarian or eurodeputy being common in Romance language-speaking areas.When the European Parliament was first established,...
(MEPs) are required to declare their financial interests or assets that could create a situation of conflict in the performance of their duties.
As in a majority of the Member States, Members of the European Parliament have an obligation to declare their financial interests at the moment of taking office as well as orally when a Member has an interest in one of the issues being debated at a sitting.
Members of the European Parliament are also required to update their declaration of financial interests every year. Their declarations are included in the public register kept by the Quaestors. The register is public and may be consulted by anyone in Parliament's three places of work (Strasbourg
Strasbourg
Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...
, Luxembourg
Luxembourg
Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...
and Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
) via the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
on the MEP's page in the online register.
In vote on March 11, 1999, about the report A4-0070/99 (Corbett, Gutiérrez Diaz, Palacio Vallelersundi) was adopted, numerous changes to the Rules of Procedure of the European Parliament designed to enable Parliament to adjust to the workings of the Amsterdam Treaty
Amsterdam Treaty
The Amsterdam Treaty, officially the Treaty of Amsterdam amending the Treaty of the European Union, the Treaties establishing the European Communities and certain related acts, was signed on 2 October 1997, and entered into force on 1 May 1999; it made substantial changes to the Maastricht Treaty,...
have been adopted:
MEPs voted to tighten the rules relating to the declaration of financial interests. The rule thus stipulates that the names of members who have not completed the register within the due time limit will be published in the minutes after due warning. The rule then goes on to state "if the member continues to refuse to submit the declaration after the infringement has been published, the President shall take action in accordance with Rule 124 to suspend the member concerned."
The original proposal to oblige members to declare all benefits above .100 was not approved, but another amendment designed to exclude members not completing the register from office in the Parliament did go through as did the amendment obliging chairmen of intergroups and other unofficial grouping to declare all forms of financial or secretarial support.
External links
- Annex I of the Rules of Procedure of the EP regarding Provisions governing the application of Rule 9(1) on Transparency and Members' financial interests which provides for members to be suspended if they refuse to submit their declaration after a request procedure.
- Rules of conduct for MEPs