Roberta Metsola, the president of the European Parliament, is singled out for a stay in a luxury hotel in France. The bill for this stay in Burgundy had been paid by a wine federation.
By DPA
LPresident of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola was questioned on Saturday because of a stay in a French luxury hotel. The bill for this stay in Burgundy had been paid by a French wine federation, the Politico site revealed the day before. Ms. Metsola’s spokesperson confirmed the information to the DPA agency.
The Speaker of Parliament announced the trip last week, following the December arrest of European Parliament Vice-President Eva Kaili on suspicion of corruption, money laundering and links to organized crime.
However, Roberta Metsola had not indicated that she had been accompanied by her husband during her stay.
According to the rules of Parliament, she should have signaled her travel plans in November already. According to Politico, Ms Metsola, from Malta, and her spouse were accommodated at the five-star Le Cep hotel in the city of Beaune, with a sumptuous five-course dinner included.
It is not known if Roberta Metsola will be sanctioned. In theory, sanctions could be imposed although there is no automatic mechanism and the responsibility for dealing with the case lies with… the Speaker of Parliament.
125 gifts in the last 12 months
Ms Metsola also disclosed that she had received 125 gifts in the past 12 months. Photographs, vases, books, champagne… the objects were registered in the file of the Parliament on January 12. Normally, gifts must be declared no later than the end of the month following that in which they were received.
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“The president receives gifts on behalf of the institution. She doesn’t keep them,” her spokesperson said.
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Apart from Ms Metsola, only a few other Members of Parliament have disclosed the gifts in the dedicated register since the beginning of 2020. Her predecessor, David Sassoli, did not declare any trips or gifts on the European Parliament website during his term.
