The European Commission will assess if Peter Mandelson breached its code of conduct following revelations he received payments from Jeffrey Epstein.
BRUSSELS: The European Commission will assess whether former commissioner Peter Mandelson breached its code of conduct over his ties to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Commission spokesman Balazs Ujvari confirmed the review on Tuesday, citing newly available documents from the US Department of Justice.
“We will be assessing if, in light of these newly available documents, there might be breaches of the respective rules with regard to Peter Mandelson,” he told a press conference.
The documents reportedly show Mandelson received several payments from Epstein in the early 2000s.
Mandelson served as the EU’s trade commissioner between 2004 and 2008.
He was fired as Britain’s ambassador to Washington last year over his links to the disgraced financier.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has also ordered an urgent inquiry into Mandelson’s ties with Epstein during his time as a British government minister.
The 72-year-old quit the Labour Party on Sunday to avoid causing it “further embarrassment”.
Mandelson was a key architect of the party’s revival under former prime minister Tony Blair in the 1990s.
