Special committee on foreign interference to deal with corruption allegations

Parliament endorsed on Tuesday an update to the title and the responsibilities of the existing Special committee on foreign interference in all democratic processes in the European Union, including disinformation (ING2).

To protect the Parliament from corruption cases such as those currently under investigation, the special committee will be tasked with identifying the shortcomings in Parliament’s rules on transparency, integrity, accountability and anti-corruption. ING2 will also have to propose measures for the medium- and longer-term and issue recommendations for reforms. Its work will build on the European Parliament’s resolutions and the best practices of other parliaments and institutions, in close cooperation with the Committee on Constitutional Affairs and the Committee on Foreign Affairs, states the text of the Decision.

ING2’s new name will be the ‘special committee on foreign interference in all democratic processes in the European Union, including disinformation, and the strengthening of integrity, transparency and accountability in the European Parliament.

Further steps

The special committee is expected to present its final report, focusing on its new tasks, for adoption in plenary by July 2023 at the latest.

Background

The “Special Committee on Foreign Interference in all Democratic Processes in the European Union, including Disinformation II”, or ING2, held its constitutive meeting on 12 May 2022. It focusses on analysing the threats from foreign interference and ensuring that the 2024 European elections are shielded from these types of attacks. It also screens existing and planned EU legislation in a range of areas for loopholes that could be exploited by countries outside the EU for malicious purposes. The ING2 mandate ends in August 2023.