“This is not our last move to tighten the rules for sure. If it is needed, if we see there are still some grey areas or loopholes left for possible abuse, we will definitely tighten up further. It is not a finite process. However, I hope that the desire and the appetite for abuse will vanish after all that has happened,” the Seimas speaker told reporters after a sitting on Friday.
The Board of the Seimas held that an MP may not purchase more than three telephones and computers during his or her term of office. MPs were also banned from buying goods and services from persons close to them and legal entities they have links with.
The Board of the Seimas also decided not to allocate more than half of the parliamentary funds for a single type of goods and services.
Čmilytė-Nielsen reiterated she would like to see the parliamentary expenses abandoned altogether, but admitted there is little support for changing the Constitution in the current Parliament.
The Skaidrinam (Transparency) public initiative found that some members of the Seimas rushed to buy computer and telephone equipment, as well as audio equipment at the end of their term of office with funds earmarked for parliamentary activities.
Over the past three years, MPs also took more than EUR 483,000 worth of souvenirs and entertainment gifts from the Seimas stocks.
Public activist Andrius Tapinas’ initiative targeted the expenses of MPs following the so-called receipts’ scandal involving municipal institutions that erupted last year.