A senior member of the far-right Patriots for Europe in the European Parliament could face an anti-fraud investigation over allegations of millions of misspent EU funds.
Nikolaj Nielsen
A senior member of the far-right Patriots for Europe in the European Parliament could face an anti-fraud investigation over allegations of millions of misspent EU funds.
On Friday (24 April), the Brussels-based office of Transparency International campaign group submitted a complaint to the EU’s anti-fraud office, Olaf.
They want an investigation into Philip Claeys over allegations some €4.3m were misspent during his time as secretary general of the hard-right Identity and Democracy (ID) group, which dissolved in 2024 before morphing into the more powerful and larger Patriots.
Claeys now holds the same position within the Patriots, where he oversees an even larger budget when compared to the ID.
Various media last year reported on the allegations, as well as on the launch of a criminal investigation opened by the European Public Prosector’s Office (EPPO), with Claeys denying any wrongdoing.
However, the latest development could potentially add Olaf into the case, with demands for the office to assess whether his conduct gives rise to ongoing risks to the EU budget amid reports that similar alleged abuses continue within the Patriots.
Transparency International’s director, Nick Aiossa, also took aim at the European Parliament.
He described the institution’s inaction on the case as “incredible,” pointing to an audit report that found the Identity and Democracy group, under Claeys’ leadership and budgetary authority, had misspent €4.3m.
“I have seen a lot of extraordinary inaction by the European Parliament over the years when it comes to misuse of EU funds. But this one I simply can’t explain,” he said, suggesting they should strip Claeys’s authority to oversee the budget.
