Following this week’s revelations in the German press about questionable links between the European Commission and environmental NGOs, the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) Group have reiterated their demand for the creation of a parliamentary committee of inquiry into the so-called “Green Gate” affair.

Speaking on the margins of the ECR Group’s Study Days taking place this week in Stockholm, ECR MEP Carlo Fidanza, first signatory of a proposal to establish the inquiry committee, stated:

“The latest revelations published by the German press about murky ties between the European Commission and environmental NGOs make the establishment of a parliamentary committee of inquiry into the so-called ‘Green Gate’ scandal ever more urgent. This committee, which has been requested by the ECR Group and backed by 200 MEPs from various political families, is essential.”

In this context, Mr Fidanza issued a direct call to MEPs from the European People’s Party (EPP):

“We hope that our colleagues from the EPP – and in particular the CDU/CSU MEPs, who have rightly expressed indignation at the situation – will push their group to support the creation of a fully-fledged committee of inquiry to bring full transparency to this affair.”

While the Budgetary Control Committee (CONT) has launched a procedural review, the ECR Group insists this is not sufficient given the scope of the affair.

“These new revelations show that the procedure launched by the Committee on Budgetary Control is nowhere near sufficient given the sheer volume of contracts to examine and the number of opaque relationships to investigate.”