THE REFORM OF THE RULES OF PROCEDURE FOR THE MEMBERS OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT IN THE CONTEXT OF «QATARGATE»

Abstract

The article focuses on the proposals for the European Parliament’s reform against the background of a corruption scandal called «Qatargate» due to bribes by MEPs and attempts to influence EU policy towards Qatar during preparation for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. The author traces the EP’s initiative, from the resolution adopted in December 2022, which laid down outlines of the future reform to the EP President’s plan on specific points of reform, which was presented in January 2022. The more radical proposals of the EP political groups that were not included in the final version are particularly noted. The author points to the dissatisfaction of MEPs with the term «Qatargate», which is explained by the EU leadership’s concern to spoil relations with the state, on which the EU energy security largely depends today. The second part of the article addresses the upcoming law on foreign agents within the framework of the EU legislative package for the democracy protection. The author notes that the law, called EuroFARA, is supposed to be an analogue of the US law on foreign agents (FARA), despite the fact that the corresponding Russian law, which was also developed on the FARA basis, is severely criticised in the European Union.