The Patriots for Europe (PfE) group has officially requested the creation of an inquiry committee in the European Parliament to provide democratically elected oversight of corruption and other abuses of power within the EU institutions; and to try to rectify the systemic failures during its limited, one-year mandate.
The need for such an inquiry has become evident given the NGO-financing scandals and high-level corruption networks that have been unmasked since the last term, as well as the EU Court of Auditors’ (ECA) recent ruling that Brussels has been severely violating its own transparency standards for years, which make accountability within existing structures “practically impossible.”
According to the six-page document sent to MEPs from all political groups for support and obtained by europeanconservative.com, members of the proposed Committee of Inquiry on Transparency and Accountability (TRAC)—practically an EU ‘DOGE’ in all but name—would be tasked to investigate allegations of
corruption, money laundering, abuse of power, undue interference in the legislative process, and other breaches of transparency and accountability standards and the rule of law by [MEPS] and officials of EU institutions.
Furthermore, the document lists several key areas of alleged violation of EU laws that the TRAC committee would particularly focus on, including:
- foreign interference (such as the Qatargate or Huaweigate scandals);
- illegal lobbying by both foreign and EU-funded NGOs (such as the scandals around the Green Deal and Chat Control);
- corruption involving the joint COVID vaccine procurement (Pfizergate);
- and other instances of bribery, money laundering, and corruption involving EU officials (such as Reyndersgate).
Moreover, the committee of inquiry would also investigate the lack of transparency and independence of EU decision-making processes, as well as the institutions’ failure to comply with their own accountability standards within the Code of Conduct, as established recently by the EU auditors. As we reported, the Patriots submitted over 80 freedom of information requests for EU-funded NGO contracts, and were denied in every case—all the more reason for the ‘EU DOGE’ to be finally set up.
TRAC would also analyze the frequently observed “revolving doors” between EU institutions and corporate lobby organizations; conduct probes into the impact of these actions on public finances and the EU budget; as well as recommend specific solutions and new legislation to prevent future abuse.
The committee would have the right to summon witnesses (including current and former EU officials), request and review classified documents, cooperate with national and international law enforcement agencies, and conduct hearings and fact-finding missions when necessary.
According to the document, TRAC would be a temporary committee and operate within a limited, 12-month mandate, which could be extended if necessary. Any recommendation made by the body would be referred to the relevant permanent committee for further action, and TRAC would also submit a final report to the plenary at the end of its mandate to suggest broader legislative changes.
The Patriots also suggest that TRAC should comprise 38 members—slightly smaller than the average 45-member parliamentary committee—with the seats divided proportionally between the political groups.
This would mean that von der Leyen’s EPP would have 10 seats, the socialist S&D 7, the Patriots 5, the conservative ECR and the liberal Renew 4 each, the Greens 3, the Left 2, and the sovereigntist ESN 1, leaving two seats for non-attached members.
In other words, even if the ‘Ursula coalition’s’ mainstream majority will allow the creation of the inquiry committee, right-wing MEPs would be outnumbered by at least 26 to 10—unless some EPP members lend their support for a genuine effort to uncover corruption, as they did in case of the ‘Timmermansgate’ with regards the Green Deal, albeit unsuccessfully.
But let’s not be naïve. With the members of the mainstream parties being the prime suspects of the largest corruption scandals—like the EPP’s Huaweigate and the S&D’s Qatargate, not to mention von der Leyen’s missing Pfizer messages—it’s unlikely that they would even allow TRAC to become a reality.
They will likely argue that the EU already has specialized bodies to deal with these offenses, such as the anti-fraud agency OLAF and the European public prosecutor EPPO, even though they are run by unelected bureaucrats and have been shown time and time again to be just as politically biasedas the institutions they are meant to oversee.
Nonetheless, the proposal already puts the EU elite in a tough spot. Those with nothing to hide have no reason to vote down a chance for democratic oversight. If they do, it will be the perfect smoking gun for all Europeans to see.