EU parliament criticized for slow pace of anti-corruption reform as offices searched over Qatargate

By LORNE COOK
Associated Press

BRUSSELS (AP) — Anti-corruption officials and lawmakers say the European Parliament has failed to introduce new rules or enforce the old ones six months after a cash-for-influence scandal rocked the assembly. The criticism came as the offices of two members of the European parliament implicated in the scandal dubbed Qatargate were searched again on Tuesday. Belgian federal prosecutors confirmed the searches to The Associated Press but declined to provide details. Michiel van Hulten, from anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International, says the assembly promised reforms in December, but “instead, we’ve seen nothing but dither and delay and attempts to blame others for what happened.”