FLASH
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The main political forces supporting Ursula von der Leyen in the European Parliament have blocked a request to debate the corruption scandal involving the College of Europe and the EU diplomatic service.
At a closed-door meeting of the Conference of Parliament Presidents in Brussels on Wednesday morning, an attempt by the far-right to put the topic on the plenary agenda next week in Strasbourg failed.
The Patriots for Europe group's initiative received support from the far-right European Group of Sovereign Nations. But this was not enough to put the debate on the urgent need to investigate the transparency and accountability of EU institutions on the agenda.
Last week, former top EU diplomat Federica Mogherini and a senior EU official, Stefano Sannino, were arrested on suspicion of rigging a public tender to create a prestigious training school for future EU diplomats.
Anders Vistisen, a Danish MEP who is the lead leader of the Patriot Party, told Euractiv that the cancellation of their proposed debate was a "great shame".
“ Our group believes that, just as sunlight kills germs, public scrutiny keeps the political class honest or at least in line. Where are the Greens demanding transparency or the socialists holding the powerful accountable ?” he said.
An official from the Socialists said that the Patriots did not follow the correct procedure in requesting a debate.
“They never raised it to a technical level ,” the official said. There is no rule that prevents groups from suggesting debates during the Conference of Presidents meeting, or even at a later date.
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