Spanish MEP trapped by attractive fake lobbyist

Zalba Bidegain, a 37-year old MEP, is the fourth victim of investigations by British newspaper the Sunday Times which exposed lobbying practices in the European Parliament.

The Spaniard was caught out by the same team of Sunday Times journalists who had already exposed three of his colleagues for passing amendments to EU legislation in return for payment promises.

During the course of the eight-month investigation, journalists from the Sunday Times posed as lobbyists and contacted some 60 MEPs to verify allegations that some MEPS were prepared "to sell their services" to push through specific amendments to EU legislation in exchange for remuneration.

Two MEPs have already resigned in the wake of the revelations that ensued Austria's Ernst Strasser (European People's Party) and Zoran Thaler of Slovenia (Socialists & Democrats).

MEP Adrian Severin (S&D), who is a former deputy prime minister of Romania, was expelled from his political group but vowed to stay on as an MEP in order to clear his name.

The ‘fun’ does not end here however. More such revelations are expected, as reportedly 14 more MEPs took the bait.

In a series of interviews with the Spanish press, Pablo Zalba insisted that his conscience is clear however.

Despite the legal amendment he helped to push through was initiated by people who turned out to be fake lobbyists, he insisted that this particular piece of legislation, which dealt with compensation for investors in case of fraud, was valuable in itself

"I voted the way I voted because I thought I was making the law better. Some people want to make a story out of nothing [...] I accepted no money or favours," Zalba claims.

However, the Spanish MEP, who is a former businessman, concedes that the female reporter who pretended to be a lobbyist was “very attractive.”

Zalba explained that the fake lobbyists had offered him the chance to become a member of the board of their pressure group, which he refused.

He said he was also offered money for the amendment, which he also refused, because in his words he was already being paid by the European Parliament.

Zalba also slammed the supposed lack of the ethical journalism standards of the Sunday Times.

According to Spanish daily El Mundo, Zalba is the only Spanish MEP to have been caught out by the Sunday Times.

The reason for this, according to sources cited, was not the integrity of Spanish MEPs, but the fact that it was difficult to come across many whose proficiency in the English language was sufficient to engage in a lobbying exercise.