President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola was questioned on Saturday because of a stay in a French luxury hotel. The bill for this stay in Burgundy had been paid by a French wine federation, the Politico site revealed the day before. Roberta Metsola’s spokesperson confirmed the information to the DPA agency.
The Speaker of Parliament announced the trip last week, following the December arrest of European Parliament Vice-President Eva Kaili on suspicion of corruption, money laundering and links to organized crime.
However, Roberta Metsola had not indicated that she had been accompanied by her husband during her stay. Under Parliament’s rules, she should have reported her travel plans in November already.
“It was not a mistake, no president of Parliament before me has ever taken this initiative (to declare his travels, editor’s note)”, Roberta Metsola told the German economic newspaper Handelsblatt on Saturday.
According to Politico, Roberta Metsola, originally from Malta, and her spouse were accommodated at the five-star Le Cep hotel in the city of Beaune, with a sumptuous five-course dinner included.
It is not known if Roberta Metsola will be sanctioned. In theory, sanctions could be imposed although there is no automatic mechanism and the responsibility for dealing with the matter rests… with the Speaker of Parliament.
The President of the European Parliament stresses, however, that the parliamentary leaders have not declared such trips so far. She wants to break away from “what has been tradition and release everything,” she said. She says she wants to take responsibility and be a role model. His predecessor, David Sassoli, declared no trips or gifts to the European Parliament website during his term.
125 Gifts
Roberta Metsola also disclosed that she had received 125 gifts in the past 12 months. Photographs, vases, books, champagne. The objects were registered in the file of the Parliament on January 12.
Normally, gifts must be declared no later than the end of the month following that in which they were received. “The president receives gifts on behalf of the institution. She does not keep them,” her spokesperson said.
Apart from Roberta Metsola, only a few other Members of Parliament have disclosed the gifts in the dedicated register since the start of 2020. Her predecessor, David Sassoli, did not declare any trips or gifts on the European Parliament website during his term.
This article is originally published on rtbf.be
