The European Court of Justice has ruled that the European Parliament cannot refuse information requests when citizens seek access to documents related to a convicted member of the assembly.
“The European Parliament must give access, in the interests of public scrutiny, to information relating to a Member of the European [Parliament] convicted in a court of law,” the Court said in a statement.
The judgment on May 8 goes against EP’s decision.
EU General Court’s move concerned the Greek MEP Loannis Lagos’. He was sentenced to 13 years and eight months in jail by the Court of Appeal of Athens in 2020 for “leading a criminal organisation”.
In 2021, three citizens sent the EP a request for access to documents related to the allowances and expenses granted to Lagos. They wanted to know how much he received from the Parliament and if any of it might have supported directly or indirectly his illegal activities.
Despite the EP specifying on its website that “in the spirit of transparency, EU residents can access and obtain documents directly online, through registers and databases or by individual requests”, it decided not to grant the citizens access to the requested information, citing data protection regulations.
“The General Court annuls the European Parliament’s decision of 8 April 2022,” it said in the press release on May 8.
#EUGeneralCourt: @Europarl_EN must give access, in the interests of public scrutiny, to information relating to a Member of the European Parliament who has been convicted in a court of law 👉 https://t.co/ATb3CgbPxg
— EU Court of Justice (@EUCourtPress) May 8, 2024
According to the ruling, the Parliament must now grant access to documents relating to reimbursements of travel expenses and subsistence allowances it paid to Lagos and his parliamentary assistants.
The EU General Court’s ruling de facto pushes for more transparency in the EU institutions and public trust in the European Union.
“The General Court considers that, in the present case, even if the legitimate interest in protecting the privacy and integrity of the individual is affected, priority must be given to the public’s right of access to the institutions’ documents,” it said.
By ruling against the European Parliament and thus that the EP acted “contrary to EU law”, the EU General Court has set a precedent. In the future, European citizens will be able to access information about MEPs if they are convicted while serving as elected officials.
A minister in Donald Tusk’s last government currently jailed on corruption charges is to be freed in order to allow him to become an MEP. https://t.co/RDQ76QzBs3
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) November 8, 2023
