Allegations of fraud: CSU vice-president Niebler resigns from his position in the EU Parliament after allegations of fraud

Brussels. CSU vice-chairwoman and MEP Angelika Niebler is not running again for co-chairmanship of the CDU/CSU group in the EU Parliament after the debate about fraud allegations. According to information from the German Press Agency, this emerges from a message from Niebler within the group. “Spiegel” had previously reported, citing several sources familiar with the process.

The election for co-chairmanship of the CDU/CSU group is scheduled to take place next Monday. Niebler has been a member of the European Parliament since 1999. She was initially parliamentary managing director of the CDU/CSU group and has been its co-chair since 2014. Niebler's announcement about her decision not to run again shows that she recommends her party colleague Christian Doleschal as her successor at the head of the group in the EU Parliament.

In late spring there were heated discussions about possible misuse of EU funds by the 63-year-old politician. In May, the European Parliament narrowly rejected a request from the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EuPO) to lift MEPs' immunity. According to information from the German Press Agency, the public prosecutor's office is continuing to make efforts to begin official investigations into the case.

The investigators actually wanted to investigate, based on information from a former employee of Niebler, whether she had improperly applied for reimbursement of travel expenses for trips to Strasbourg and Brussels. According to a parliamentary document, there was also the question of whether Niebler had assistants temporarily carry out activities that were not related to the exercise of their parliamentary duties. In one case, it was suspected that an assistant who was paid by Niebler with EU money worked exclusively for a party friend and former MP.

The parliamentarians who protected Niebler from investigations with their decision in May followed a recommendation from parliament's legal affairs committee. He suspected that the main witness in the case might have given information to the public prosecutor out of political motivation.

According to the EuStA, however, the relevant initial suspicion existed, among other things because the witness had handed over numerous documents. Several of Niebler's parliamentary group colleagues subsequently showed a lack of understanding for the committee's actions and also for Niebler's defense strategy at the time. She had actually publicly assured that she was interested in a comprehensive investigation.

Niebler herself initially did not respond to the German Press Agency's inquiry about her decision. In the message to party friends, she writes that she is looking forward to having more time for individual dossiers and for her work in the parliamentary delegation for relations with India.