"[..] Yes, it was an official trip, travel expenses were paid for as there was no violation in making this visit," said Ždanoka confirming that her travel expenses for going to Crimea were compensated by the EP.
Currently journalists from all 28 European Union member states have joined forces in going to the European Union Court to demand clarity on large bonuses paid to MEPs.
From the Baltics, the demand was handed from Sanita Jemberga of the Re:Baltica investigative journalism center.
Jemberga previously told Latvian Radio that journalists are acting on the principle that the use of public funds should be transparent, mentioning Tatjana Ždanoka's Crimea visit as an example where journalists could have no idea about whether the EP had paid for the visit after all, despite that the MEP hadn't been granted a mandate to go to Crimea.
As LSM's Latvian-language service previously reported, the EP office in Latvia had announced that the EP wouldn't be paying for the travel expenses of Ždanoka's visit to Crimea as no MEPs had been sent to participate as official observers.
No explanation has yet been offered on why the public was misled.
