Reporter smuggles bomb into Merkel and Chirac hotel

MEPs' assistants, EU Commission officials, and industry insiders should help drain the lobbyist swamp in Brussels by tipping off a new "early-alert" system, Dutch socialist MEP Paul Tang has said.

The EU's lobby register remains riddled with errors, with pro-transparency campaigners demanding better data and mandatory rules. The latest findings come amid a raft of proposals by the European Parliament president to weed out corruption in the wake of Qatargate.

Nick Aiossa, deputy director of Transparency International EU said there is a "culture of impunity" in the parliament among MEPs, which contributed to the Qatargate scandal that has rocked the insitution at the end of last year.

The European Parliament does not rule out mandatory anti-harassment training for MEPs — but has left questions of greater support for victims of bullying and abuse open-ended.

"We must do everything we can to be ready with this new system for the next European elections," MEP Sandro Gozi said after the committee vote.

The Socialists & Democrats want to regain the vice-presidency seat previously held by Eva Kaili, a Greek socialist MEP charged over allegations of corruption linked to Qatar. The Greens have other ideas and have put forward their own candidate.