Luxembourg MEP's Russia ties draw rare ethics referral from Parliament's president

The president of the European Parliament has taken the rare step of referring one of the assembly's own members to its ethics watchdog, putting a Luxembourgish lawmaker at the centre of a debate over how the EU institution polices contacts with Russia.

In a letter first reported by the Kyiv Independent on 15 June and corroborated by other outlets the following day, President Roberta Metsola asked the Parliament's Advisory Committee on the Conduct of Members to examine the conduct of Fernand Kartheiser, a former diplomat who in 2024 became the first MEP for Luxembourg's Alternative Democratic Reform Party (ADR). She requested that the committee "examine the situation and assess whether Mr. Kartheiser or any other members concerned may have breached the Code of Conduct."

The move is unusual: the Parliament's presidency seldom intervenes publicly in the affairs of an individual member, and it casts the Grand Duchy — more often a quiet presence in Brussels — into a wider European argument about foreign-influence risks within the chamber.

What the referral alleges

At the heart of Metsola's concern is the impression Kartheiser's activity may create. According to the Kyiv Independent's account of the letter, she wrote that his contacts "give rise to serious concern, first and foremost because it may create the impression that there exists an informal channel of communication between the European Parliament and the (Russian) State Duma." The Parliament has maintained no formal cooperation with the Duma since 2014.

The trigger was Kartheiser's attendance at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on 3 June, the opening day of the Kremlin-backed gathering. He subsequently circulated a so-called "St. Petersburg declaration" to fellow MEPs and their staff, a text whose backers pledge to support initiatives aimed at "the improvement and the normalization of relations" between Russia and the European Union.

The Kyiv Independent reported that the letter describes four videoconferences and four in-person meetings between Kartheiser and Russian politicians, two of them held on Russian soil. The possible breaches under examination, according to the reporting, include a failure to disclose meetings "with representatives of public authorities of third countries" on the Parliament's public transparency platform, and the question of whether any trips were funded by third parties or otherwise compensated. Members are also bound to respect the dignity and reputation of the institution.

From group expulsion to St. Petersburg

The referral is the latest chapter in a year of friction between Kartheiser and the EU mainstream. In May 2025 the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group expelled him after he travelled to Moscow at the invitation of the Russian parliament to discuss bilateral relations and the war in Ukraine.

By travelling to Putin's Russia, Fernand Kartheiser has crossed a red line for the ECR Group. We will take decisive action to terminate his group membership as soon as possible.

That statement, from ECR co-chairs Nicola Procaccini and Patryk Jaki, underlined how far Kartheiser had drifted from a group that has consistently backed Ukraine. Kartheiser defended the journey at the time, saying he had paid for it himself because, in his telling, the Parliament was "blocking MEPs' diplomatic efforts to meet with the Russian Federation." The episode left ADR — whose sole MEP he is — without a European political family, and the party was subsequently reported to be weighing closer ties with the nationalist Patriots for Europe group.

Kartheiser pushes back

Kartheiser has rejected the new scrutiny in forceful terms. In an interview with the Russian state broadcaster RT, he described the prospect of an inquiry as "surreal," casting himself as a bridge-builder being punished for dialogue.

"It is surreal that those who are trying to build bridges and maintain dialogue are being put under pressure by the very same EU institutions that want to strengthen the EU's role in future peace negotiations," he told RT. "This is completely unrealistic. I do not think the European Parliament is doing itself any favors by taking actions such as this."

He also said he had not seen Metsola's letter and found it "strange" that matters affecting a member were aired in the press before he had been consulted.

What happens next

The Advisory Committee on the Conduct of Members is a confidential body that advises the president; it does not itself impose penalties. Its assessment feeds into a decision by Metsola, who can, in cases of a confirmed breach, apply sanctions ranging from a reprimand to the withdrawal of the daily subsistence allowance or temporary exclusion from parliamentary activities. No finding had been reached at the time of reporting, and Kartheiser retains his seat and voting rights.

For Luxembourg, the affair is an awkward spotlight. A single MEP from a small national party has drawn an intervention from the Parliament's most senior figure, turning a domestic political curiosity into a test case for how the EU assembly draws the line between independent diplomacy and the foreign-influence risks it says it is determined to contain.