Louis Michel, a top Belgian liberal MEP, took off to Mali on Friday (22 November) amid a media storm that his office copy-pasted over 150 business-friendly amendments to the EU data protection bill.
Michel is said to have been unaware of the tabled amendments and blamed his assistant, who reportedly resigned on Friday.
Some 229 amendments were tabled in his name, of which 158 weaken the reformed EU data protection regulation currently under legislative review by member states.
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Already a member? Login hereNikolaj 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.