Socialist Bullmann to take over Parliament’s human rights committee

Veteran socialist MEP Udo Bullmann will become the European Parliament’s chief spokesperson on human rights after his predecessor resigned as part of the fallout from the Qatargate scandal.

Bullman has been nominated by the leadership of the Parliament’s Socialist and Democrat group to replace Belgian socialist Marie Arena as chair of the Human Rights sub-committee. Arena resigned from the position in January after being investigated in the Qatargate corruption scandal. The Belgian lawmaker has not been arrested or charged.  

A former S&D group leader, Bullman is one of the most senior centre-left lawmakers in Brussels and is “a very experienced pair of hands”, a group source told EURACTIV. 

A handful of present and former MEPs have been arrested or investigated about the scandal so far, all of them from the S&D group, a fact which is a source of acute embarrassment to the group. Former MEP Richard Corbett is leading the centre-left group’s own internal investigation into the affair.  

The scandal, which has prompted Parliament President Roberta Metsola to propose a series of reforms to the EU assembly’s internal procedures and rules on lobbying, ethics and financial declarations, has revealed the importance which many countries outside the EU give to the Parliament’s stance on human rights and civic freedom in their nation. 

Although the committee does not have legislative powers, it is responsible for drafting Parliament resolutions on human rights which lay at the heart of the Qatargate scandal. Other countries, including Morocco, are also widely speculated to have offered financial inducements to EU lawmakers in exchange for political support. 

Last week, the Moroccan parliament voted to suspend relations with the European Parliament after MEPs strongly criticised the Rabat government’s stance on civil society and media freedom. 

“Our task is to defend democracy and human rights worldwide and to be the voice of those who have no voice,” Bullmann told EURACTIV, adding that he was “grateful for the trust my group has placed in me. Now, I will seek the confidence of my colleagues in Parliament.“

The appointment is expected to be confirmed at the committee’s next meeting on Monday (6 February).

[Edited by Alice Taylor]

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