Fraud, loopholes, and silence: The dark side of MEPs’ assistant budgets Euronews on financial scandal in Brussels

Euronews, the renowned TV channel, has unveiled a revealing article on financial fraud within the European Parliament. For our Caliber.Az readers, we present an adapted version of this eye-opening investigation.

The misuse of funds allocated for Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) to pay their assistants has been widespread in recent years, yet only a small number of cases result in legal action. While French far-right politician Marine Le Pen and eight former MEPs from her party were found guilty of embezzling EU funds, they are far from the only ones implicated. Multiple sources familiar with the internal workings of the European Parliament have told Euronews that the misuse of these funds is common practice.

Each MEP is entitled to a monthly sum specifically designated for paying their assistants, which currently stands at €30,769 in the 2024–2029 legislature, a slight increase from the previous term. At least 40% of this amount is required to be used for accredited parliamentary assistants (APAs), who work within the Parliament’s premises in Brussels, Luxembourg, or Strasbourg and are employed directly by the institution.

The remaining 60% may be allocated to “local assistants,” who work from the MEP’s home country and are either directly employed by the MEP or hired through a service provider. Funds earmarked for assistants can only be used for work deemed necessary and directly linked to an MEP’s parliamentary mandate. However, this rule has been frequently broken, and according to sources, it continues to be violated.

The line between what qualifies as necessary work for an MEP’s role and what does not is often unclear. This ambiguity has allowed local assistants to engage in duties that are not strictly related to an MEP’s parliamentary work. One parliamentary source, speaking on condition of anonymity, described how some MEPs employ local politicians engaged in political activity in their constituencies. “Then their calls and meetings are twisted to be reported as related, in one way or another, to the MEP’s parliamentary mandate,” the source explained.

These practices have occasionally come to light, exposing several cases of financial misconduct. Marine Le Pen’s case attracted international attention, as did that of former UKIP leader Nigel Farage, who employed an assistant for non-parliamentary activities. Another widely discussed case was that of the Parliament's former Greek socialist Vice-President Eva Kaili, who was accused of misusing between €120,000 and €150,000. However, beyond these well-publicized cases, many similar instances go unnoticed or unpunished.

The European Parliament does not provide statistics on the extent of the problem. However, it has been involved in civil proceedings against MEPs nine times over the past decade in cases related to fraud against the EU’s financial interests. “Our objective when joining as a civil party is always to participate in safeguarding European taxpayers' funds and the budget of the European Parliament,” the Parliament’s press service told Euronews.

Nevertheless, not all cases of financial misuse result in legal proceedings. Another source, also speaking anonymously, explained that in some instances, the Parliament conducts an internal administrative check and simply asks the MEP to repay the misspent amount by issuing a recovery notice. In other cases, the Parliament refers suspicions of fraud to the appropriate European and national authorities. The European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) may also intervene when it receives a tip-off. After conducting a pre-screening, OLAF decides whether to launch an investigation. This was the case with Marine Le Pen, whose alleged fraud was flagged by her political opponents. However, only a small fraction of tips lead to full OLAF investigations, and even fewer result in formal reports. More often than not, OLAF concludes that there are insufficient grounds to proceed further.

If OLAF does identify potential fraud, it hands its findings to the European Parliament, which then decides on the next steps. In cases involving criminal offenses such as fraud, OLAF refers the case to the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO), which can either investigate the matter itself or involve a national prosecutor. However, since EPPO has only been operational since 2021, cases that predate its establishment, such as Le Pen’s, were handled by national judicial systems. The EPPO does not disclose the number of cases it is working on to avoid compromising ongoing investigations, but it has made several cases public. In 2023, for example, EPPO seized more than €170,000 in assets from Italian MEP Stefania Zambelli, a member of Italy’s far-right League party.

Despite the frequency of such incidents, data on the misuse of assistant funds remains limited. Nicholas Aiossa, director at Transparency International EU, criticized the lack of transparency, stating, “We don’t know how many MEPs are involved in this practice. The Parliament does not make that information public, although we think they should.” Aiossa pointed to a 2023 Follow The Money report, which found that 139 EU lawmakers had misused funds allocated for assistants between 2019 and 2022, with the European Parliament recovering funds on 155 occasions.

In response to the report, the European Parliament’s press service downplayed its findings, stating, “Most are technical recoveries unrelated to wrongdoing. Only a minority of cases concerned assistants. The 'amounts recovered' include minor cases of potential abuse but mainly consist of technical adjustments, administrative errors, and voluntary reimbursements.”

While some cases of financial misconduct within the European Parliament have gained public attention, many others remain concealed. The misuse of funds intended for MEPs’ assistants is a longstanding and ongoing issue, often handled internally rather than prosecuted, allowing questionable financial practices to persist largely unchecked.