President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, has responded to alleged code of conduct violations by Luxembourg MEP Fernand Kartheiser, which could lead to sanctions against the Alternative Democratic Reform Party (ADR) politician.
In early June, Kartheiser travelled to Saint Petersburg to participate in an economic forum, where he met with MPs from the Russian Duma.
During a press conference on the sidelines of the EU summit in Brussels, Metsola addressed potential code of conduct violations by MEPs, including those by Kartheiser in connection with his travels to Russia and his ties to the Russian parliament.
When asked about the Luxembourg MEP's case, Metsola stated that she does not wish to comment on letters that are not public. Metsola is reported to have written a letter calling on a supervisory body to assess whether certain MEPs had violated the European Parliament's code of conduct.
Without explicitly naming Kartheiser, Metsola noted that the European Parliament terminated all interparliamentary ties with the Russian Duma following the annexation of the Crimean peninsula in 2014. For this reason, she argued, actions that violate the institutional mandate of the European Parliament must be prevented. Metsola added that such actions could also cause "confusion" among the public.
