EU Court to rule on Greek neo-Nazi MEP
A convicted neo-Nazi from Greece is in prison - and at the same time receives public funds as a member of the EU Parliament. We have sued the Parliament to disclose the use of the money. Now, the European Court will rule on the matter.
Greek neo-Nazi Ioannis Lagos is currently serving a 13-year prison sentence in Greece – and is also a member of the EU Parliament. In this role, he still has access to public funds. However, the parliament is keeping secret how Lagos uses them. On Wednesday, the European Court will rule on our lawsuit on the matter.
In October 2020, the neo-Nazi party "Golden Dawn" was declared a criminal organization in Greece in a landmark ruling, including for the murder of an anti-fascist rapper. The party was dissolved and its leading members sentenced to prison. Among them was Ioannis Lagos.
Nazi, criminal, MEP
However, he was already a member of the EU Parliament at the time. Lagos had to go to prison, but was allowed to remain in parliament. While serving his prison sentence, Lagos continues to receive his salary: a monthly gross salary of almost 10,000 euros. When he turns 63, he will be entitled to an EU pension.
He will also continue to have access to parliamentary funds and resources from prison. Greek media have reported that a car provided to him by parliament is still being used by one of his assistants.
It is not known exactly how Lagos uses the money from prison. Although the EU Parliament has 93 documents on Lagos' expenses, it has refused to publish them. Its reasoning: releasing the information would violate Lagos' privacy.
This means that public scrutiny of the use of parliamentary funds is not possible. Even a convicted neo-Nazi does not have to justify himself to the public according to the will of the parliament. We want to change that.
It is possible that another MEP is keeping a close eye on the proceedings. The anti-democratic AfD top candidate Maximilian Krah is currently in the public eye because his colleague in the MEP's office is alleged to be a Chinese spy. How he spent his expenses is also a secret.
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