French presidential candidate and leader of the National Rally party Marine Le Pen has once again found herself at the center of a financial dispute with European institutions. According to Mediapart, the financial management of the European Parliament has demanded the return of 168,997 euros, which the agency believes were spent in violation of EU funding rules during her tenure as a Member of the European Parliament from 2009 to 2014, writes [Huffpost.fr](https://www.huffingtonpost.fr/politique/article/l-ardoise-a-plus-de-160-000-euros-laissee-par-marine-le-pen-au-parlement-europeen_326934.html). The funds in question are those that Members of the European Parliament receive to support their parliamentary activities and interaction with voters. According to current rules, such expenses must be directly related to the performance of parliamentary duties. Mediapart reports that the audit revealed a number of expenses that the European Parliament considers unjustified. Among them are contracts awarded without mandatory competitive procedures or with only formal compliance with requirements, as well as an event from 2010, officially declared as a conference on Europe and the financial crisis. According to the publication, the auditors concluded that it was actually of an intra-party nature and was related to Marine Le Pen's struggle for leadership of the then National Front. The audit materials also mention expenses for producing a thousand DVDs costing about 10,000 euros and newsletters amounting to 37,000 euros, the use of which, Mediapart claims, could not be documented. ## Marine Le Pen's Position Marine Le Pen rejects personal responsibility for the identified violations. She states that the expenses underwent necessary checks, and budget management issues were the responsibility of her then-parliamentary assistant Charles van Houtte. Additionally, the politician previously went to court accusing the former head of the party's parliamentary group, claiming that there may have been violations in the documents. However, the European Parliament holds a different position. According to its rules, it is the Member of Parliament who bears ultimate responsibility for the legality and justification of the claimed expenses, regardless of who handled their documentation. ## This is not the first dispute The current demands are based on materials from an investigation by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF), which previously identified possible violations in the use of European Parliament funds by several party representatives. However, the current demand concerns a separate episode related to Marine Le Pen's expenses during her time as a Member of the European Parliament. The politician now has the option to appeal the European Parliament's demand to the Court of Justice of the European Union in Luxembourg. A final decision on the case has not yet been made. The next step could be legal proceedings if Marine Le Pen decides to exercise her right to appeal the European Parliament's demands.
