Warborn is chairman of the organization SME Europe, which works for better conditions for small businesses. A number of civil society organizations, led by the anti-corruption movement Transparency International (TI), now believe that this makes him disqualified, as he has also led the parliament's work to push for simplifications in the EU's sustainability rules.
TI and others have therefore reported Warborn to the European Parliament's Ethics Committee, which may recommend that the Speaker take action against him.
"The EU Parliament's pitiful ethics rules make it easy for members to prioritize their private interests," writes Shari Hinds from TI in a press release.
However, he himself does not think he is in conflict with the law, but compares SME Europe to a women's association or youth organization.
"I have been fully transparent. . . I see these accusations more as a politically motivated submission from interest groups that are dissatisfied with what the European Parliament and the member states have agreed on," Warborn writes in a statement to TT.
