Fourteen MEPs are under scrutiny for failing to declare outside income that should have been disclosed under the Parliament’s rules. The revelations point to individual lapses and broader weaknesses in the Parliament’s oversight and enforcement mechanisms.
The Rules and the Breach
The European Parliament’s Code of Conduct requires MEPs to declare any outside income exceeding €5,000 per year, including the amount and the periodicity of payments. MEPs receive a base salary of €8,088 per month after tax. Many supplement that income with consulting, writing, speaking, or other professional activities.
Transparency International’s Integrity Watch estimates that MEPs declare between €3.5 million and €11.2 million in outside income annually, but other reports also stat that one in five declarations are imprecise or incomplete and that 42 percent omit key details such as employer names or positions.
Twelve percent of declared side jobs involve organizations registered as EU lobbyists, which raises potential conflict-of-interest concerns.
Among the MEPs flagged for incomplete or missing declarations is Alvise Pérez of Spain. He worked as an influencer and reportedly earned €20,000 per month before his election and has not declared that income. Mario Mantovani of Italy is reported to have consulting roles worth six figures annually that were not declared. Michał Wawrykiewicz of Poland, said he misunderstood the rules and believed that national declarations would suffice. Jana Nagyová of the Czech Republic, aligned with the far-right, reported a small regional political income and said she had been wrongly advised by staff. Sibylle Berg of Germany, an independent lawmaker, later declared €120,000 per year from writing and theatre. Other flagged lawmakers include representatives from Finland, France, Estonia, Slovenia, and Spain, each with varying explanations and degrees of compliance.
Raphaël Kergueno of Transparency International EU warned that without proper monitoring of MEPs’ declarations and without sanctioning for breaches of the Code of Conduct, EU citizens are left relying on MEPs’ promises alone.
The current revelations follow a string of high-profile transparency scandals. The Qatargate investigation led to arrests and allegations that some MEPs accepted cash and gifts in exchange for political influence. More recent reports have raised concerns about gifts from corporate actors, including allegations involving Huawei, underscoring persistent vulnerabilities.
A Pattern of Weak Oversight
The European Parliament has repeatedly proposed reforms to strengthen transparency, but enforcement has often been described as inconsistent. Past controversies illustrate a recurring pattern in which rules exist but monitoring and sanctions are perceived as insufficient. Transparency International and other watchdogs have called for independent auditing of declarations, clear sanctions for non-compliance, and greater public access to financial records so that civil society and journalists can scrutinize potential conflicts.
Advocates for stronger oversight emphasize three priorities. Independent verification of MEPs’ financial declarations, transparent and enforceable sanctions for breaches of the Code of Conduct, and improved public access to detailed financial records.
Proponents argue that these measures would reduce the risk of conflicts of interest and help restore public confidence in EU institutions. The failure of 14 MEPs to properly declare side income is framed by observers as more than a series of administrative errors. It is presented as part of a broader credibility challenge for EU institutions, where transparency rules exist but are not always enforced in ways that reassure the public.