The Ombudsman has written to the President of the European Parliament with a series of questions designed to aid the Parliament’s reflections on improving its ethics and transparency framework.

The questions follow the Ombudsman’s analysis of the 14-point draft proposals presented by President Metsola to the Conference of Presidents on 8 February and relate to areas the Ombudsman considers need greater clarity or further explanation.

Several questions concern the committee monitoring the implementation of MEPs’ Code of Conduct, asking whether it will have own-initiative powers, how its independence will be guaranteed and how its work will be made more transparent.

The Ombudsman also focused on how the various rules will be enforced, such as whether there are measures foreseen in case the suggested ‘cooling off’ period for former MEPs is not respected.

The Ombudsman reiterated the importance of transparency in the reform process and asked for planned steps and milestones to be made public.