The Bureau of the European Parliament on Monday elected a new secretary general - he will be the chief of staff of the speaker Alessandro Ciocchetti, whose candidacy previously drew criticism from smaller factions and anti-corruption organizations.
This is reported by "European Truth".
As specified in the notification of the European Parliament, Ciocchetti will take up the position from January 1, 2023 after the end of the term of office of the current Secretary General Klaus Welle. It is claimed that three other candidates applied for the position along with Ciocchetti, and his candidacy received the support of a "very large majority".
Velle, who has been the secretary general of the European Parliament since 2009, has turned it into one of the most influential in the body. He is responsible for the agenda of the European Parliament and appointments to other key positions.
It is believed that Ciocchetti is a candidate close to the largest group in the European Parliament - the European People's Party. In order to maintain influence over the Secretary General, she entered into an agreement with the liberal group "Renew Europe" and "Lefts".
It was claimed that the "leftists" in exchange will receive the post of director general of the Directorate for Partnership of Parliamentary Democracies. This gave reason to critics to talk about the behind-the-scenes nature of the election of Ciocchetti, who is also accused of inexperience.
"This is an unreasonably accelerated procedure that seriously undermines the image of the body, while until the end of the year there is enough time to elect a new secretary general," commented the leader of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (the second largest group of the European Parliament), Irache García Perez.
In addition, just last week, the international anti-corruption organization Transparency International published an open letter to the European Parliament with a request to "reject the backroom agreement and take immediate steps to improve the transparency and integrity of employment procedures."