As the rapporteur for the budget discharge report on behalf of the Patriots for Europe group, Deutsch pointed out that while Brussels bureaucrats have been lecturing others for years about the importance of fighting corruption, systemic corruption has infiltrated EU institutions, and the Brussels power elite has become entangled in mafia-like operations. "Today, the media is full of stories about rolling suitcases stuffed with tens of thousands of euros, vaccines ordered via text messages for billions of euros, and a former EU commissioner under criminal investigation for corruption and money laundering," he said.
Despite these scandals, the newly presented audit report on the functioning of the European Parliament, prepared by a German MEP from the European People's Party, does not even mention the biggest corruption case in EU history, involving former European Parliament Vice President Eva Kaili and her accomplices. According to Deutsch, the European Parliament has failed to protect the EU’s financial interests in this regard.
In response, on behalf of the Patriots for Europe group, Deutsch has submitted a comprehensive amendment package to the report. The proposals include stricter internal regulations on corruption-related crimes, substantive investigative measures and tronger oversight mechanisms to prevent similar corruption scandals in the future.
In his amendments proposal, Deutsch also highlighted the failure of the EU’s current internal rules to combat and uncover corruption effectively. He called for immediate action, including a complete overhaul of the Committee on Budgetary Control’s operations. Instead of politically attacking member states, there should be increased scrutiny of EU institutions themselves, he stressed.
