On Wednesday, Marc Angel was named one of the European Parliament’s 14 vice presidents. “We have this many because we have a lot of work that we have to divide amongst ourselves,” Angel explained, adding that he will be briefed on his new tasks the following week. The politician from the Luxembourg Socialist Workers’ Party (LSAP) sat down with our colleagues from RTL Radio on Friday morning to discuss his new mandate.
He stressed that there is no need for Luxembourg to keep a low profile. “We are taken seriously,” Angel stated, which is why he is pleased that the Grand Duchy has been given this responsibility. Besides Marc Angel as VP, Luxembourgish MEP Christophe Hansen (Christian Social People’s Party – CSV) also serves as one of the parliament’s five quaestors.
Regarding the corruption scandal that has rocked the European Parliament, Angel stated unequivocally that a “full investigation” is required to restore trust in the institutions.
According to the new VP, it is crucial for the parliament to see this situation through together. “We have to work twice as hard to bring parliamentary work, i.e., politics, back to the fore,” Angel believes, adding that the affair involving former VP Eva Kaili has done “a lot of damage.”
Angel regrets that everyone implicated in the affair was a member of the socialist parliamentary group. However, he stressed that the group is not “in denial” of this fact and has reacted “in a pro-active way” from the beginning. On Thursday, the president of the socialist parliamentary group presented a 15-point roadmap for changes that are to be implemented. In addition, an internal commission of inquiry has been formed to investigate how such an affair could have occurred in the first place and why nobody noticed that it was happening.
According to Angel, it is crucial to introduce stricter rules for the transparency register of the European Parliament. At the moment, MEPs are only required to disclose the identities of lobbyists they meet with when working on a report. “This is not enough,” Angel criticised, adding that he himself reports all meetings in which he discusses policies with others. The new VP is also in favour of expanding the authority of those overseeing the transparency register.
While Marc Angel will not run in the legislative elections later this year, he told our colleagues from RTL Radio that he will actively support his party’s campaign. It is generally expected that Paulette Lenert will announce her election bid as the LSAP’s top candidate during the party’s new year’s reception in Schengen on Friday evening. Angel stated that if a party wishes to nominate the prime minister, only one person can lead that party in an election.
Marc Angel will be the next guest on Conversations with Christos. The episode will go live on RTL Play at 6pm on Tuesday.
