EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE SAYS FRAUD UNIT CAN INVESTIGATE MEPS.

• Position: Brief Article

The Court of First Instance has ruled that the EU's Anti-Fraud Office OLAF can carry out an investigation within the European Parliament and search MEPs' offices without their permission. On February 26, the Court dismissed a case brought by Willi Rothley (PES, Germany) and 70 other Members of the European Parliament on February 26 challenging and amendment to the Parliament's Rules of Procedure authorising the anti-fraud office OLAF to carry out investigations within the institution.Back in November 1999, the Parliament adopted a decision on the amendments to its Rules of Procedure authorising application of the rules provided for by the Inter-Institutional Agreement of the previous May concerning OLAF investigations (see European Report 2410 and 2452 for further details). Seventy-one MEPs challenged the legality of this decision before the Court of First Instance in January 2000 (see European Report 2468 for further details). By order of May 2, 2000, the President of the Court of First Instance suspended the decision of the European Parliament in part (see European Report 2498 for further details).In its final ruling (case T-17/00), the Court of First Instance dismisses the action as inadmissible. Article 230 EC provides, inter alia, that any natural person may, under certain...