A new EU ethics body was formally signed on Wednesday (15 May) aimed at curtailing scandals and keeping the EU institutions free from corruption.
"Upholding integrity and independence within all European institutions is crucial for maintaining public trust and impartial decision making," said Vera Jourova, EU transparency commissioner, at a signing ceremony in Brussels.
"To be truly inter institutional, this body is common and open to all EU institution and bodies," she added, noting that the body will reinforce a shared culture of ethical standards across institutions.
But years of debate and outright opposition by some have soured its initial ambitions, leaving the body without any investigative powers.
The latest iteration won't cover the European Council or the activities and officials of the member state holding the EU’s six month rotating presidency.
"I see this as a starting point," said European Parliament president Roberta Metsola, in a statement.
"Our institutions will need to adapt their functioning and processes accordingly. For the parliament, this will occur during the next five year legislative term," she said.
Similar comments were made by Oliver Röpke, who heads the EU's smallest institution, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC).
"At the EESC we believe that all EU institutions must be uncompromising on questions of transparency, and conflicts of interest ethics," he said.
An EUobserver investigation found that its members, many who work and live in Brussels, were claiming daily €290 subsistence allowance of public taxpayer money to cover accommodation, food and local transport for meetings held in Brussels.
And Ropke netted €93,670 in daily expenses between 2015 to July 2019 for his Brussels-based meetings.
A follow up to the investigation, including demands for the EESC to reveal spending habits, were formally denied by the institution.
Among the critics are the Brussels-based Transparency International EU, which last month described the body as a bare minimum in terms of keeping officials in check.
And MEPs last month almost voted it down with 301 in favour, 216 against and 26 abstentions.
The opposition included the centre-right European People's Party (EPP), which said the body "threatens European parliamentarism" and has no legal basis.
The EPP has a record of voting down pro-transparency initiatives, including a 2019 measure requiring MEPs to disclose to the public their meetings with lobbyists.
At the time, the EPP had triggered a rarely-used parliamentary rule that allows MEPs to hide their individual votes from the public in a plenary vote.
Slap on the wrist sanctions for MEPs caught violating conflicts of interests has also helped foster a sense of impunity.
But the most recent scandals has also seen the European Parliament weather allegations that one of its vice-presidents, Eva Kalli, a socialist MEP from Greece, had taken bribes from Qatar in the lead up to World Cup games. She maintains her innocence.
The ceremonial adoption of the body on Wednesday by Jourová comes ahead of a lobbying report by the German-based NGO, LobbyControl.
The report sheds light on the intensity of lobbying in the EU institutions, noting that weak oversight and a transparency register riddled with errors, lays the groundwork for future possible scandals.
The intensity of the corporate sector in lobbying the EU institutions is matched by their spending, posing potential risks to policies that span the environment.
Corporate lobbyists alone last year spent some €1.3bn last year to influence legislation, it says.
Among them was the chemical industry associating CEFIC, which alone had annual budget for €44m with some 160 employees.
Along with the money comes the access.
Some 80 percent of the lobbyists that met with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen came from the business sector, notes the report.
The secret nature of the policy writing and law making among the EU institutions also works in favour of well-connected lobbyists, it says.
Nikolaj joined EUobserver in 2012 and covers home affairs. He is originally from Denmark, but spent much of his life in France and in Belgium. He was awarded the King Baudouin Foundation grant for investigative journalism in 2010.
Nikolaj joined EUobserver in 2012 and covers home affairs. He is originally from Denmark, but spent much of his life in France and in Belgium. He was awarded the King Baudouin Foundation grant for investigative journalism in 2010.