Despite earlier agreements between the major political groups, the vote revealed that the Christian-democratic EPP joined conservative and far-right parties in opposing these plans.
The creation of the ethics committee was a 2019 commitment. Major groups, including the EPP, at the time promised to bring more transparency and integrity to the European Parliament. However, the plan was postponed for years and is now definitively blocked.
The proposal for the ethics committee was presented as a way to prevent corruption scandals and restore citizens' trust. Several MEPs are currently under investigation for suspicion of bribery or espionage for foreign regimes. Yet, the plan was voted down.
Last week’s vote saw the EPP align with conservative and far-right groups opposing the creation of the ethics committee. According to the Social Democratic S&D group, this shows that the EPP’s promise of transparency was primarily a political strategy rather than a genuine commitment to integrity.
Critics argue that the ethics committee would have been merely a symbolic gesture without real powers. The EPP in particular stressed that existing European treaties already provide sufficient safeguards for integrity and that an additional committee would be unnecessary and legally problematic.
Supporters of the committee, such as the Renew Europe and S&D groups, maintain that the current rules are insufficient. They emphasize that repeated corruption scandals demonstrate that independent oversight is essential. According to Renew Europe, the EPP was guided by fear of political repercussions within its own ranks.
Although the plan is now blocked, calls for more transparency in the European Parliament persist. Advocates for the ethics committee have announced they will seek other ways to tighten integrity rules and combat corruption more rigorously, though concrete follow-up steps have not yet been announced.