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Polish MEP Radoslaw Sikorski has sent an open letter to Dutch newspaper NRC attacking a report that lawmakers received regular payments from the United Arab Emirates as consultants for an allegedly undeclared luxury trip to Dubai.
“It is not fair to say that I do not announce my mandate. I always announce everything on the relevant website of the European Parliament as required,” the lawmaker from the EPP group said in a statement. letter To the editor of this publication on Thursday.
This was in response to an investigation into his ties to the United Arab Emirates Wednesdayit is alleged that since 2017 Sikorski has regularly traveled to the United Arab Emirates for “free stays at luxury resorts” and received €93,000 a year from the Gulf state for his position on the advisory board of the Sir Bani Yas Forum.
“In addition to his salary as MEP, which nets €7,646 per month, he receives an additional US$100,000 (€93,000) per year from the UAE for advising meetings,” the NRC said.
But the lawmaker said in his letter posted on Twitter that these “extra-parliamentary activities” were listed in his statement of financial interests to parliament Polish parliament.
In addition, he said that the Serbaniyas Forum was “the most prestigious conference on Middle East issues” and referred to other members of the Advisory Board such as “the former Prime Minister of Australia and the former Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom” and also noted that the 2022 Forum Attendees included John Kerry, the US presidential climate envoy, and Josep Borrell, the European Union’s foreign affairs chief.
Sikorski said it was “incorrect” to link the “prestige role” to his status as an MEP.
Sikorski’s Recent submissions to the Polish Parliament Direct acknowledgment of his role in the Sir Bani Yas Forum and a remuneration of US$100,000. His European Parliament disclosures, 2021 update, he says he grosses up to €10,000 per month for the activities of his consulting service, Sikorski Global. According to filings, the effort includes various advisory boards, including Sir Bani Yas.
Sikorski noted that he attended the forum in two days List of meetings on the European Parliament website, without detailed individual discussions; his entries at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, and the Munich Security Conference were similar.However, he did not include any of these gatherings in set of declarations Fees for activities organized by third parties. Sikorski told NRC he did not need to provide details of his Emirates travel because “it was part of my paid outings.”
Sikorski’s office declined to comment on the letter he posted on Twitter.
The NRC report acknowledged that “direct influence could not be demonstrated,” although its analysis found that Sikorski “takes positions that favor the UAE and its closest ally, Saudi Arabia — often in line with those of his CDU. ”
The newspaper cited him as supporting efforts to soften the Saudi death penalty resolution, while also voted against Following the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2020, a European Parliament resolution called on member states to stop supplying arms to Saudi Arabia.
Sikorski argued that his voting behavior was “in full compliance with the voting proposals of my political group, the European People’s Party group in the European Parliament”.
He added, “I want you to thank me for complying with all national and European transparency rules.”
Measures to prevent conflicts of interest in parliament are rarely enforced, and the issue of multitasking has been identified as a concern for political integrity.
The agency is currently working to reform its tTransparency Rules, with an emphasis on shining a brighter light on foreign influence. An investigation fell into the hands of Eva Kaili, the current former vice-president of the European Parliament, and a former MEP who heads the agency’s human rights group, both social democrats. According to the Belgian judiciary, they are accused of participating in a corrupt network and of being improperly influenced by Moroccan and Qatari interests.
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