Members of the European Parliament are routinely accepting gifts, wages and hospitality from companies they are charged with regulating.

Although, under pressure to improve EU decision-making transparency, MEPs this week agreed a plan for a mandatory register for the estimated 15,000 lobbyists in Brussels, they have avoided taking action to curb possible abuses of their own.

Among senior British MEPs who admit taking gifts, money and hospitality from businesses is the West Midlands Conservative MEP, Malcolm Harbour. He is a leading figure in the debate on carbon dioxide and fuel efficiency in Brussels. Since 2004, Mr Harbour has been loaned 18 cars by the industry. Also courtesy of the car industry, he has attended Grand Prix races and received cross-country driving instruction.

Provided they declare any interest, MEPs are not breaking any regulations. Mr Harbour says he drives cars because he needs "to understand what is going on, and I declare it as I feel that I have nothing to hide".

Another self-declared beneficiary of the car industry's generosity is Martin Callanan, a Conservative MEP for the North-East. In 2006, he was given a discount by Ford when buying a new car. Along with a colleague, he recently tabled a crucial amendment to a report on CO2 emissions for cars. It gave manufacturers three extra years to prepare for the limit, a move described as "disastrous" by Green MEPs.

Mr Callanan says his discount was available to all MEPs but that he declared it "to avoid any accusation of conflict of interest".

Giles Chichester, Tory leader in the parliament, is also president of the European Energy Forum, which promotes the interests of the oil, gas and nuclear industries. In May 2007, he was the guest of nuclear company Areva at the America's Cup race off Valencia. Mr Chichester says the trip had no bearing on his long-held pro-nuclear views.

Conservative Scottish MEP John Purvis, vice-chairman of the influential Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs, is a non-executive chairman of Belgrave Capital Management, a recruiting arm of a Swiss company that invests in hedge funds. In 2003, Mr Purvis was the rapporteur who proposed a "light-handed EU-wide regulatory regime" for the hedge-fund industry. He sees no conflict of interest: "The whole of my career has been in banking and finance, so at least I know something about it."

Sharon Bowles, a Liberal Democrat MEP for the South-East, is a leading patent lawyer. She is a member of the parliamentary committee of the Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys, whose role includes lobbying the parliament. She says there is no conflict of interest as she is not practising. She admits that it is "valid" to think there might be a conflict of interest "and would be happy to come off".

Chris Davies, a Lib Dem MEP for North-West England, said: "The European parliamentary rules are 20 years behind those of Westminster. They really are a scandal waiting to happen."

Peter Facey, director of Unlock Democracy, added: "It is welcome that MEPs are requiring lobbyists to be transparent; now they must do more themselves. It is high time we began the process of comprehensive reform. Otherwise public confidence in European institutions will continue to slide."

 

 

British MEPs accused of corruption

The News of the World reported that British MEPs are using lax expenses rules to claim huge amounts of money. The paper accuses Independent MEP Tom Wise, and Conservative MEPs Robert Atkins, David Sumberg, Roger Helmer and Conservative leader in the European Parliament Giles Chichester of exploiting the system by making exorbitant claims for expenses such as flights, daily allowances, staff allowances and office costs. Sumberg reportedly paid his wife £95,000 a year to work as his secretary and Chichester employed his wife on a part-time basis at £30,000 a year. The main feature focuses on comments from Tom Wise, who told an undercover reporter: "It's cushy - £60,000 a year! Thank you very much indeed! What have we got to do for it? Not a lot! I don't know what an MEP's job is. No one's ever given me a job description. I've no idea what an MEP should or shouldn't do. So you make it up as you go along."

 

When the News of the World asked Sir Robert Atkins about his staffing allowance, he said: "It's very complicated and I don't suppose any of your readers would understand it."

 

The paper's leader describes the European Parliament as a "money-pit for cash-grabbing freeloaders who cynically milk our taxes for thousands of pounds a week each."

 

In a separate story the Independent on Sunday reported that British MEPs are routinely accepting gifts, wages and hospitality from companies they are charged with regulating. The paper names Conservative MEPs Giles Chichester, Malcolm Harbour, John Purvis and Martin Callanan and Lib Dem Sharon Bowles as having all received benefits from organisations and businesses regulated by the European Parliament.

NOTW NOTW 2 Independent on Sunday NOTW leader

 

Comment:  MEPs are the beneficiaries of a double standard - behaviour that would lead to de-selection in Westminster is regarded as unremarkable in Brussels.  As one member of the Westminster lobby pointed out to us a couple of weeks back: "MEPs being corrupt isn't really a story". 

 

We think it is, and will be publishing research on the Parliament over the coming weeks. David Cameron has said that he will publish a line-by-line breakdown of public spending on the internet (a good idea).  He should extend this to the spending of MEPs and the European institutions.  But the crucial thing is to reintroduce accountability at the ballot box and scrap the closed party list system - which prevents voters from punishing corrupt or ineffective MEPs.