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| Bucharest Officials Take Action in Severin Case 06/04/02011 |
| (2011-04-06) |
| Last updated: 2011-04-07 16:00 EET |
The National Anti-Corruption Directorate within the Romanian Ministry of Justice has called on the European Parliament to lift the parliamentary immunity of Romanian MEP Adrian Severin. Depriving Severin of his parliamentary immunity is a prerequisite to initiate an investigation into the allegations of bribe-taking and influence peddling made against him.
Although for several years now Adrian Severin’s involvement in domestic politics has stopped making the headlines, the former Foreign Minister is now in the focus of attention of Strasbourg and Brussels officials. This is not due however to any of his achievements. The British weekly paper The Sunday Times has released an undercover recording of Romanian Social-Democratic MEP Adrian Severin accepting to table several amendments to EU laws for approval in exchange for money offered by British journalists posing as lobbyists.
Anti-corruption prosecutors have taken immediate action and submitted a request to the head of the European Parliament, Jerzy Buzek to revoke Severin’s parliamentary immunity. The EU official is to submit the request to the EU’s Judicial Commission, which will hear Severin and file a recommendation to Parliament. According to sources with the European Parliament, the decision to lift Severin’s immunity is expected to cause little surprise.
At present there is a wave of excitement over the Sunday Times revelations sweeping the European Parliament. The aforementioned sources also say Severin has become extremely unpopular. This is largely due to the fact that, unlike other two MEPs from Austria and Slovenia, who promptly announced their resignation following revelations of corruption in the Sunday Times’ sting operation, the Romanian MP holds on to his EU seat by his fingertips.
Had Severin stepped down, it would have been an act of dignity, says Socialist leader Martin Schulz. The EU official added that “there is no room among lawmakers for such people who are looking to trade their services to the highest bidder”. Adrian Severin claims he has kept on the right side of the law and dismisses the affair as a political media scheme aimed at lynching an “unpopular politician”. Although Severin expressed his biting criticism against the ruling coalition in Romania, he only managed to attract a lot of heat to his own party.
Social-Democratic leader Victor Ponta demanded Severin to bow out, and Severin complied, although not without hesitation. The Romanian print press writes that, following Severin’s break with the Social Democratic Party and the Socialist Group, the only reason why Severin continues to keep a firm hold of his MEP mandate is his EU paycheck. Severin is quite well paid as a eurodeputy at present, and will almost certainly enjoy a good life after retirement.
Romanian daily papers write that Severin only wants to swell his bank accounts that already border on 1 million euros. In Bucharest and Strasbourg, the scandal has also fuelled debates regarding lobbying in general, as well as the thin line between lobbying and influence peddling. Professional lobbyists harshly reprimand MEPs for showing “too keen an interest in certain companies”.
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