Activities of Gwendoline DELBOS-CORFIELD related to 2023/2095(REG)
Plenary speeches (1)
Amendments to Parliament’s Rules of Procedure with a view to strengthening integrity, independence and accountability (debate)
Amendments (37)
Amendment 18 #
Proposal for a decision
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Decides that the Committee on Constitutional Affairs shall begin a process of reviewing the amendments at the latest on 1 January 2027 in order to assess them, and, if appropriate, propose in the light of this assessment further amendments to Parliament’s Rules of Procedure with a view to strengthening integrity, independence and accountability, without prejudice to the possible earlier adoption of amendments in this regard; decides that such a review of the rules concerning strengthening the integrity, independence and accountability shall be repeated during each term;
Amendment 19 #
Rule 35 – paragraph 6
6. The Quaestors shall keep a public register of the intergroups and of the declarations referred to in paragraph 4. The QuaestorsBureau shall adopt detailed rules on that register and on those declarations and their publication on Parliament’s website.
Amendment 20 #
Rule 35 a (new)
Amendment 21 #
Rule 176 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1
In serious cases of breach of Rule 10 (2) to (9), Rule 35 or Rule 35a, the President shall adopt a reasoned decision imposing upon the Member concerned the appropriate penalty in accordance with this Rule. Where there is reason to believe that the President may have breached those provisions, one of the Vice-Presidents determined in accordance with their order of precedence shall assume the President’s role for the tasks laid down in this Rule.
Amendment 22 #
Rule 176 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 4
Once the penalty becomes final, it shall be published prominently on Parliament's website as well as on the Member’s online page on Parliament’s website, and shall remain there for the rest of the parliamentary term.
Amendment 23 #
Rule 176 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 1 a (new)
In cases of serious or repeated breaches, the penalty shall at least consist of one of the measures listed in points (b) to (e).
Amendment 24 #
Annex I – Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point c
(c) not engage in paid professional lobbying directly linked to the Union decision-making processlobbying activities, including consulting and other services for entities falling under the scope of the Interinstitutional Agreement on a mandatory transparency register.
Amendment 25 #
Annex I – Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point c
(c) not engage in paid professional lobbying directly linked to the Union decision-making processactivities on behalf of entities falling under the scope of the Interinstitutional Agreement on a mandatory transparency register.
Amendment 26 #
Annex I – Article 3 – paragraph 1
1. A conflict of interest exists where the exercise of the mandate of a Member of the European Parliament has a personal interest that could improperly influence the performance of his or her duties as a Memberin the public interest may be improperly influenced for reasons involving his or her family, emotional life, economic interest or any other direct or indirect private interest. 1a. A financial conflict of interest exists when a Member’s exercise of the mandate would further a person’s private interests, including his or her own or his or her spouse’s or common-law partner’s or registered partner’s or parents or children’s private interests, when the member’s actions result, directly or indirectly, in situations such as: (a) an increase in, or the preservation of, the value of the person’s assets; (b) the extinguishment, or reduction in the amount, of the person’s liabilities; (c) the acquisition of a financial interest by the person; (d) an increase in the person’s income; (e) the person becoming a director or officer in a corporation, association or trade union; and (f) the person becoming a partner in a partnership. For points (a) to (d), a conflict of interest shall only exist when the total financial benefit of all the Member's activities related to the specific conflict of interest exceeds EUR 2 500 gross in a calendar year. 1b. A conflict of interest does not exist where a Member benefits only as a member of the general public or of a broad class of persons.
Amendment 27 #
Annex I –Article 3 – paragraph 2
2. Any Member who finds that he or she has a conflict of interest shall immediately take the necessary steps to address it, in accordance with the principles and provisions of this Code of Conduct. If the Member is unable to resolve the conflict of interest, he or she shall report this to the President in writing. In cases of ambiguity, the Member may seek advice in confidence froms shall make every reasonable effort to detect conflicts of interest. A Member who becomes aware of having a conflict of interest shall immediately endeavour to resolve it. If unable to resolve it, the Member shall make sure that the private interest concerned is declared in accordance with Article 4 and shall inform the President and the Advisory Committee on the Conduct of Members, established under Article 7 about the conflict of interest in writing.
Amendment 28 #
Annex I – Article 3 – paragraph 3
3. Without prejudice to paragraph 2, Members shall disclose, before speaking or voting in plenary or in one of Parliament’s bodies, or if proposed as a rapporteur, any actual or potentany financial conflict of interest in relation to the matter under consideration, where such conflict is not evident from the information declared pursuant to Article 4. Such disclosure shall be made in writing or orally to the chair durorally by intervening ing the parliamentary procsitting or meedtings in question concerned.
Amendment 29 #
Parliament's Rules of Procedure
Annex I – Article 3 – paragraph 3 a (new)
Annex I – Article 3 – paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Before taking up the office of Vice-President, Quaestor, Chair or Vice- chair of a committee or delegation, the Member shall submit a declaration indicating whether or not he or she is aware of having a financial conflict of interest in relation to the responsibilities of that office. If the Member is aware of having such a financial conflict of interest, he or she shall describe the conflict in that declaration. In that case, he or she may only take up the office if the respective body decides that the financial conflict of interest does not prevent the Member from exercising his or her mandate in the public interest. When such a financial conflict of interest arises during the exercise of the office in question, the Member shall submit a declaration describing that conflict and shall refrain from exercising the responsibilities with regard to this situation of conflict, unless the respective body decides that the financial conflict of interest does not prevent the Member from exercising his or her mandate in the public interest.
Amendment 30 #
Annex I – Article 3 – paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Before taking up the office of Vice-President, Quaestor, Chair or Vice- chair of a committee or delegation, the Member shall submit a declaration indicating whether or not he or she is aware of having a conflict of interest in relation to the responsibilities of that office. In cases of doubt, the Member may seek advice in confidence from the Advisory Committee on the Conduct of Members, established under Article 7. If the Member is aware of having such a conflict of interest, he or she shall describe the conflict in that declaration. In that case, he or she may only take up the office if the respective body decides that the conflict of interest does not prevent the Member from exercising his or her mandate in the public interest. When such a conflict of interest arises during the exercise of the office in question, the Member shall submit a declaration describing that conflict and shall refrain from exercising the responsibilities with regard to this situation of conflict.
Amendment 31 #
Parliament's Rules of Procedure
Annex I – Article 3 – paragraph 3 b (new)
Annex I – Article 3 – paragraph 3 b (new)
3b. A Member who is proposed as a rapporteur or shadow rapporteur or as a participant in an official delegation or in interinstitutional negotiations shall submit a declaration indicating whether or not he or she is aware of having a financial conflict of interest in relation to respectively the report or opinion or the delegation or negotiations in question. If the Member is aware of having such a financial conflict of interest, he or she shall describe the conflict in that declaration. Where the Member who has been proposed as a rapporteur declares that he or she has a financial conflict of interest, the respective committee may decide by a majority of the votes cast that the Member may nevertheless be appointed as a rapporteur on the ground that the conflict does not prevent the Member from exercising his or her mandate in the public interest. Where the Member who has been proposed as a shadow rapporteur or as a participant in an official delegation or in interinstitutional negotiations declares that he or she has a financial conflict of interest, the respective political group may decide that the Member may nevertheless be designated as a shadow rapporteur or as a participant in an official delegation or in interinstitutional negotiations on the ground that the conflict does not prevent the Member from exercising his or her mandate in the public interest. The respective body may, however, oppose this designation by a majority of two thirds of the votes cast.
Amendment 32 #
Annex I – Article 3 – paragraph 3 b (new)
3b. A Member who is proposed as a rapporteur or shadow rapporteur or as a participant in an official delegation or in interinstitutional negotiations shall submit a declaration indicating whether or not he or she is aware of having a conflict of interest in relation to respectively the report or opinion or the delegation or negotiations in question. In cases of doubt, the Member may seek advice in confidence from the Advisory Committee on the Conduct of Members, established under Article 7. If the Member is aware of having such a conflict of interest, he or she shall describe the conflict in that declaration. Where the Member who has been proposed as a rapporteur declares that he or she has a conflict of interest, the Member may not be appointed rapporteur. Where the Member who has been proposed as a shadow rapporteur or as a participant in an official delegation or in interinstitutional negotiations declares that he or she has a conflict of interest, the Member may not be designated as shadow rapporteur or as participant in an official delegation or in interinstitutional negotiations.
Amendment 33 #
Annex I – Article 4 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point c
(c) any regular remunerated activity which the Member undertakesn alongside the exercise of his or her office, whether as an employee or as a self-employed personthe Member’s office, including the name of the entity, the name of the client as well as the field and the nature of the activity; where there is a statutory duty of confidentiality, the field of the client's activity may be declared instead of its name,
Amendment 34 #
Annex I – Article 4 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point c
(c) any regular remunerated activity which the Member undertakesn alongside the exercise of his or her office, whether as an employee or as a self-employed personthe Member’s office, including the name of the entity as well as the field and the nature of the activity,
Amendment 35 #
Annex I – Article 4 – paragraph 5
5. If the President receives information, which leads him or her to believe that the declaration of financialprivate interests of a Member is substantially incorrect or out of date, the President mayshall request clarification from the Member. In the absence of a satisfactory clarification, the President shall consult the aAdvisory cCommittee provided for in Article 7. Where appropriate,If the Advisory Committee concludes that the declaration does not comply with this Code of Conduct, it shall recommend to the President shallto request the Member to correct his or her declaration within 10 days. The Bureau may adopt a decision applying paragraph 4 to Members who do not comply with the President’s correction request. If, taking into account that recommendation, the President concludes that the Member has breached this Code of Conduct, he or she shall request the Member to correct the declaration within 15 calendar days.
Amendment 36 #
Annex I – Article 4 a (new)
Article 4a Declaration of assets Members shall declare their assets and liabilities at the beginning and end of every term of office. The Bureau shall lay down the list of categories of assets and liabilities to be declared and shall draw up the form for the declaration. Such declarations shall be submitted to the President and shall be accessible only to the relevant authorities, without prejudice to national law.
Amendment 37 #
Annex I – Article 5 – paragraph 1
1. Members of the European Parliament shall refrain from accepting, in the performance of their dutieir capacity as Members, any gifts or similar benefits, other than those with an approximate value of less than EUR 1500 given in accordance with courtesy usage or those given to them in accordance with courtesy usage when they are representing Parliament in an official capacity.
Amendment 38 #
Annex I – Article 5 – paragraph 2
2. Any gifts with an approximate value of more than EUR 100 presented to a Members in accordance with paragraph 1 when they are or she is representing Parliament in an official capacity shall be handed over to the President and dealt with in accordance with implementing measures to be laid down by the Bureau pursuant to Article 9.
Amendment 39 #
Annex I – Article 5 a (new)
Article 5a Publication of meetings 1. Members should only meet interest representatives that are entered in the transparency register. 2. Members shall publish online, within 30 calendar days after the meeting took place, all meetings relating to parliamentary business - with interest representatives falling under the scope of the Interinstitutional Agreement on a mandatory transparency register, or - with representatives of public authorities of third countries, including their diplomatic missions and embassies. 3. The obligation laid down in paragraph 2 applies to meetings attended by the Member or by the Member’s parliamentary assistants on his or her behalf. 4. By way of derogation from paragraph 2, Members shall not publish a meeting the disclosure of which would endanger the life, physical integrity or liberty of an individual or may decide not to publish a meeting where there are other compelling reasons for maintaining confidentiality. Such meetings shall instead be declared to the President, who shall keep this declaration confidential or shall decide on an anonymised or delayed publication. The Bureau shall lay down the conditions under which the President may disclose such a declaration. 5. The Bureau shall provide for the necessary infrastructure on Parliament's website. 6. Article 4(5) shall apply mutatis mutandis.
Amendment 40 #
Annex I – Article 5 a (new)
Article 5a Publication of meetings 1. Members should only meet interest representatives that are entered in the transparency register. 2. Members shall publish online all scheduled meetings relating to parliamentary business - with interest representatives falling under the scope of the Interinstitutional Agreement on a mandatory transparency register, or - with representatives of public authorities of third countries, including their diplomatic missions and embassies. 3. The obligation laid down in paragraph 2 applies to meetings attended by the Member or by the Member’s parliamentary assistants on his or her behalf. 4. By way of derogation from paragraph 2, Members shall not publish a meeting the disclosure of which would endanger the life, physical integrity or liberty of an individual or may decide not to publish a meeting where there are other compelling reasons for maintaining confidentiality. Such meetings shall instead be declared to the President, who shall keep this declaration confidential or shall decide on an anonymised or delayed publication. The Bureau shall lay down the conditions under which the President may disclose such a declaration. 5. The Bureau shall provide for the necessary infrastructure on Parliament's website. 6. Article 4(5) shall apply mutatis mutandis.
Amendment 41 #
Annex I – Article 5 b (new)
Amendment 42 #
Annex I – Article 6 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Members shall not engage with former Members for a period of six months after the end of their mandate in any activity, within the meaning of Article 5a, which could allow the former Members to influence the formulation or implementation of policy or legislation, or the decision-making processes of Parliament.
Amendment 44 #
Annex I – Article 7 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1
The Advisory Committee shall be composed of five members, appointed by the President at the beginning of his or her term of office from amongst the members of the Committee on Constitutional Affairs and the Committee on Legal Affairs, taking gender- balanced and composed of nine members. Five of those members shall be Members of the European Parliament. Those members shall be elected by the plenary for a term of 5 years on a proposal of the President, taking due account of the Members' experience, of their record of ethical behaviour, and of political balance. The other four members shall be external experts. They must be independent, chosen on the basis of their competence, experience and professional qualities, as well as their personal integrity, have an impeccable record of ethical behaviour and provide a declaration of the absence of conflicts of interest. The expert members shall be nominated by applying mutatis mutandis the procedure account of the Members' experience and of political balanclaid down in Rule 231(1) to (5) of the Rules of Procedure. The expert members shall be elected by applying mutatis mutandis the procedure laid down in Rule 17(1) of the Rules of Procedure.
Amendment 45 #
Annex I – Article 7 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1
The Advisory Committee shall be composed of five memberseight members. Five of those members shall be current Members of the European Parliament, appointed by the President at the beginning of his or her term of office from amongst, taking due account of the mMembers of the Committee on Constitutional Affairs and the Committee on Legal Affairs, taking due account of' experience and of political and gender balance. The other three members shall be external experts with personal integrity and experience in professional ethics. They shall be appointed by the President at the beginning of his or her term of office. In the case of a vote, only the Mmembers' experience and of politic of the Advisory Committee who are Members of the European Parliament shall balance eligible to vote.
Amendment 47 #
Annex I – Article 7 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 2
Amendment 49 #
Annex I – Article 7 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 2
In the event of an alleged breach of this Code of Conduct by a member of a political group not represented in the Advisory Committee or in the event of a request pursuant to paragraph 4 concerning such a member, the relevant reserve member shall serve as a sixtenth full member of the Advisory Committee for the purposes of investigation of that alleged breach.
Amendment 51 #
Annex I – Article 7 – paragraph 4 – subparagraphs 2 a and 2 b (new)
Amendment 52 #
Annex I – Article 7 – paragraph 4 – subparagraphs 2 a and 2 b (new)
Alleged breaches of this Code of Conduct may be signalled directly to the Advisory Committee, while also informing the President. The Advisory Committee shall assess them, based on a pre-screening of its secretariat, and advise the President on possible action to be taken. A dedicated system for the signalling of alleged breaches by any person shall be established and shall be accessible on Parliament’s website, while maintaining confidentiality of those signalling the alleged breach. The Advisory Committee shall proactively monitor compliance by Members with this Code of Conduct and its implementing measures. It shall, on its own initiative, signal to the President, together with a recommendation of an action to be taken, any possible breaches of those provisions.
Amendment 53 #
Annex I – Article 7 – paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. The Advisory Committee shall be supported by a well-resourced secretariat.
Amendment 54 #
Annex I – Article 8 – paragraph 1
1. Where there is reason to thinkbelieve that a Member of the European Parliament may have breached this Code of Conduct, the President shall, except in manifestly vexatious cases, refer the matter to the Advisory Committee. Where there is reason to believe that the President may have breached this Code of Conduct, one of the Vice-Presidents determined in accordance with their order of precedence shall assume the President’s role for the tasks laid down in this Article.
Amendment 55 #
Annex I – Article 8 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1
The Advisory Committee shall examine the circumstances of the alleged breach, and may hear the Member concerned. Based on its findings, it shall make a recommendation to the President concerning a possible decision. mprising, where appropriate, a penalty, which may consist of one or more of the measures listed in Rule 176(4), (5) and (6) of the Rules of Procedure, and the detailed reasoning for the recommended penalty. In cases of serious or repeated breaches, the recommended penalty shall at least consist of one of the measures listed in Rule 176(4), points (b) to (e) of the Rules of Procedure.
Amendment 56 #
Annex I – Article 8 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 1
If, taking into account that recommendation, and having invited the Member concerned to submit written observations, the President concludes that the Member concerned has breached theis Code of Conduct, he or she shall adopt a reasoned decision laying down a penalty. The President shall notify that Member of the reasoned decisionimposing a penalty and including the detailed reasoning for the decision. The President shall notify that Member of the reasoned decision. The President shall adopt the reasoned decision within 30 calendar days after receiving the recommendation of the Advisory Committee. In justified cases, the President may once request the Advisory Committee to authorise a prolongation of this period by another 30 calendar days. If the President fails to adopt a reasoned decision within the deadline set out in the second subparagraph, the recommendation shall be deemed to have been approved.
Amendment 57 #
Annex I – Article 8 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 2
The penalty may consist of one or more of the measures listed in Rule 176(4) to (6) of the Rules of Procedure. In cases of serious or repeated breaches, the recommended penalty shall at least consist of one of the measures listed in Rule 176(4), points (b) to (e) of the Rules of Procedure.
Amendment 59 #
Annex I – Article 8 – paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Once the penalty becomes final, the President’s decision together with the conclusion of the recommendation of the Advisory Committee shall be published prominently on Parliament’s website. This shall include the detailed reasoning of the decision and the recommendation.