04/06/2026
Czech MEP Alexandr Vondra (ECR) did not declare his role as honorary chair of the Prague Centre for Transatlantic Relations (PCTR) in his declaration of private interests – despite the fact that the think tank is funded by major Czech defence companies with a direct interest in legislation he is actively negotiating. Politico broke the story this morning.
Vondra argues his position is “strictly symbolic” and therefore did not need to be disclosed. But the European Parliament’s own press service told Politico that the Code of Conduct “does not distinguish between different types of membership in boards or committees” – and other MEPs with similarly “honorary” titles have disclosed their affiliations without issue.
The conflict of interest concern runs deeper than the missing declaration. The PCTR’s principal funders include the Czechoslovak Group (CSG) and Colt CZ Group, both registered EU lobbyists. Vondra is shadow rapporteur on the Defence Omnibus and Military Mobility files – legislation those companies have a direct stake in – and has put forward amendments granting defence projects priority funding access and exemptions from environmental transparency rules. On each rapporteurship, he declared no awareness of any conflict of interest.
Yesterday, The Good Lobby, Transparency International EU, LobbyControl, and Corporate Europe Observatory filed a formal complaint with the European Parliament’s Advisory Committee on the Conduct of Members, calling for a full investigation. Read our complaint below.