The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) is investigating, together with the Belgian authorities, MEPs from the European People’s Party for alleged embezzlement of funds, according to Politico. The investigations, however, are at a very preliminary stage since no one has been formally accused and the group led by the German Manfred Weber has not received any request for information in this regard, according to that publication.
“At this stage, this investigation is limited to the facts and there are no suspects. Whenever we can say something about any of our investigations, we will do so proactively,” says the European Public Prosecutor’s Office in a statement sent to that media outlet in which it confirms the investigation that affects a group in the European Parliament, but does not specify which one.
The European Public Prosecutor’s Office is responsible for investigating cases that affect the financial interests of the European Union. In the case of the European Parliament, the community budget has an item allocated to the financing of political groups and MEPs receive, in addition to their salary and 350 euros per day for participation in parliamentary activity), allowances for general expenses (4,950 euros monthly to cover expenses for the rental of offices in the Member State in which they are elected, computer equipment and programs, office supplies, mobile phones and telephone and internet contracts. There is also a budget allocation of 29,557 euros per month so that. parliamentary card select your assistants.
Recently, the European Parliament has claimed 300,000 euros from the former leader of the French far-right, Jean-Marie Le Pen, for undue expenses. He used European Parliament funds to buy everything from ties to 129 bottles of wine during the time he held a seat (2009-2018). Furthermore, the French justice system has closed in on the National Group for organizing a “system” to finance the salaries of its employees with funds intended for assistants to MEPs.
The plot of fictitious jobs involved the establishment of a “system of misappropriation” of the allocations assigned by the European Union to each member of Parliament to pay parliamentary assistants (then it was 21,000 euros per month), who in reality worked fully or partially for the party in France, according to the Prosecutor’s Office. In 2018, the European Parliament estimated the damage caused at 6.8 million euros, in the period between 2004 and 2016. The case has put several far-right leaders in the dock, including Marine Le Pen.
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