European Parliament President Roberta Metsola wants oversight bodies to investigate alleged code of conduct violations by Luxembourg MEP Fernand Kartheiser, Politico reports.
Kartheiser was expelled from the European Conservatives and Reformists parliamentary group last year over trips to Moscow. He has held at least four video calls with Russian lawmakers and visited Russia at least twice. He has described his trips to the aggressor state as an effort to increase parliamentary diplomacy to help bring peace to Ukraine. Kartheiser’s most recent visit to St. Petersburg was on the 3rd of June, when he attended an economic forum there.
Metsola raised concerns about a declaration of cooperation signed by Kartheiser and other MEPs with the Russian parliament, in which both sides pledged to continue and strengthen cooperation. In a letter, Metsola wrote that such declarations raise serious concerns as they could give the wrong impression about the EP’s position.
The EP officially suspended contacts with Russian lawmakers after the annexation of Crimea in 2014. Since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Russian officials have been banned from the EP.
Metsola pointed to rules that say MEPs must respect the dignity and reputation of the organisation,
and insisted that the existing restrictions should not be circumvented by holding individual meetings.
Metsola also wrote that the EP’s supervisory body, responsible for ensuring compliance with the code of conduct, should assess whether Kartheiser had properly provided information about meetings with third-country officials and trips paid for by third parties. After the eight-member monitoring committee has conducted an investigation, the EP President can decide on appropriate sanctions, such as the withdrawal of daily allowances or exclusion from EP activities.
Kartheiser, meanwhile, said he had not seen Metsola’s letter and added that he found it strange that important issues affecting an MEP were being presented to the press before a specific person had been consulted.
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