London, Europe Brief News – Head of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola has come under fire after failing to declare within the mandated parliamentary deadline that she undertook several sponsored trips over the past year.
Acording to documents seen by Le Soir newspaper, Maltese MEP Roberta Metsola filed forms affirming that she had undertaken up to five trips that were at least partially funded by third parties over the period from May to October 2022.
The suspicious trips include a visit to Israel on 22-24 May last year paid for by the Israeli State; a trip to Davos in May funded by the Victor Pinchuk Foundation; a trip to Copenhagen on 10 June sponsored by the Alliance of Democracies Foundation; and a trip to Beaune in October paid for by the Brotherhood of the Knights of Tastevin.
Under current parliamentary rules, MEPs are required to fill in the required paperwork “no later than the last day of the month following the last day” of any trip funded in whole or in part by a third party.
A spokesperson for the Maltese MEP further admitted to Le Soir that it is “maybe” the case that Metsola’s ticket for the Champions League final in Paris on 28 May was paid for by UEFA.
The latest affair involving Metsola is just the latest in a spate of similar scandals to have hit the European Parliament over the last few weeks.
Last January, Roberta Metsola was elected as EU Parliament president, making her the first woman to lead the EU in 20 years.
The late president of the EU, David Sassoli, died in January 2022 at the age of 65, leaving an early election in Parliament.
