European lawmakers will no longer be able to receive expensive gifts and will have to declare other deals, under new rules agreed in the European Parliament on Thursday, months after reports revealed a conflict of interest at the body.
The 736 members of parliament will be asked to provide reports on activities that have been paid more than five thousand euros per year under the new code of conduct, Reuters reported. The rules are expected to receive final approval next month and apply from January.
MEPs will also have to provide information on any possible conflict of interest, such as engaging in lobbying in the past, and will have to refuse gifts worth more than 150 euros.
Violation of these rules is punishable by simple reprimand up to suspension from parliament for up to ten years.
"With the greater power of the European Parliament, there must be increased responsibility and transparency of its members," said the statement of EP President Ježi Buzek.
"The code of conduct will provide strong protection against unethical behavior."
Reuters reports that the adoption of the new rules came after the agency's report highlighted a conflict of interest in the EP and a British newspaper revealed lawmakers who are willing to sell their influence.
Anti-corruption campaigners welcomed the code but raised concerns about the definition of gifts, given that foreign travel and hotel stays paid for by interest groups or foreign governments could still be allowed under the new rules.
"Excluding the reimbursement of direct costs from the definition of a gift is a dangerous loophole that could allow corporate hospitality to continue," the Brussels-based transparency group, Alter-EU, said in a statement.
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