There’s been a highly damning secret internal audit on MEPs expenses, which is reputed to reveal widespread malpractice and outright criminal activity with the audit purportedly unable to account for £100m. A few MEPs, notably Lib Dem MEP Chris Davies, have seen this report under surveillance and without taking notes or copies.

With this in mind, MEPs have rejected a draft ruling that they should publish how much they pay their staff and claim on expenses. Source: Financial Times.

Don’t MEPs realise that the perception of nearly every citizen in the EU is that MEPs are bust stuffing their pockets with millions of pounds of taxpayer’s money. If they don’t address this then citizens will have continue to have little faith.

Some MEPs are hiding behind the fig leaf of privacy but as Nikiforos Diamandouros, The European ombudsman, rightly ruled privacy considerations outweigh the publics right-to-know. Corruption in the EU has to de addressed and soon – no now!