The European Parliament must publish details of the expense claims made by jailed Golden Dawn MEP Ioannis Lagos, judges said today (8 May).

Lagos was sentenced by a Greek court to over 13 years in jail when his far-right party was deemed a criminal organisation in 2020, but continued to claim a salary and expenses from the European Parliament for months after.

The request for information is legitimate as it’s “intended to facilitate enhanced public scrutiny and accountability with regard to Mr Lagos’ access to public funds” in the exceptional circumstances of the case, the EU’s General Court said in a statement.

Activists welcomed that ruling, even if it came after a lengthy court battle.

“It’s really alarming that public money was being made available to a convicted criminal and yet we could have no information,” Luisa Izuzquiza of activist group FragDenStaat, which brought the case, told Euronews. “There is really no accountability with regard to these funds.”

“In the next term we really hope to see a change of culture and greater openness because MEPs are elected representatives,” she said, adding: “Accountability should be a given.”

Lagos had access to more than €100,000 in funds in the seven-month period between conviction and the Parliament agreeing to lift his immunity, Izuzquiza said.

That raised alarm bells as, according to a statement he made to the media, he was considering fleeing the EU to escape justice – and potentially using taxpayer-funded travel expenses to do so.

The ruling comes amid increasing scrutiny of the bloc’s cluster of far-right MEPs, ahead of elections due in June.

On Tuesday morning, police searched the offices of Maximilian Krah, after his assistant has been arrested for allegedly spying for China. Krah, lead candidate for Germany’s Alternative für Deutschland party, has denied any wrongdoing on his own part.

A report published by Transparency International shed light on the millions of euros MEPs make from earnings outside of their official salary and allowances – as they’re allowed to hold second jobs under current Parliament rules.

A Parliament spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Both sections of the temporary floating pier intended to be placed off the coast of Gaza Strip for the delivery of humanitarian aid have been completed, though weather and sea conditions are preventing delivery of the parts to the embattled region, Pentagon officials tell Fox News.

Pentagon Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said during a press briefing on Tuesday that the U.S. Military completed the offshore construction of the Trident Pier section, or the causeway, which is the component that will eventually be anchored to the Gaza shore.

The second element of the project, the floating pier section, has also been completed.

“So, as of today, the construction of the two portions of the JLOTS [Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore], the floating pier and the Trident pier are complete and awaiting final movement offshore,” Singh said. “As you know, late last week, CENTCOM [U.S. Central Command] temporarily paused moving the floating pier and Trident pier toward the vicinity of Gaza due to sea state conditions. Today, there are still forecasted high winds and high sea swells, which are causing unsafe conditions for the JLOTS [Joint Logistics Over-The-Shore] components to be moved.”

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The components are still sitting at the Port of Ashdod, and CENTCOM “stands by” to relocate the pier sections to Gaza, Singh added.

Once off the coast of Gaza, the U.S. military and USAID will work together to deliver humanitarian assistance using military support vessels and trucks.

Singh could not provide an exact date for when the pier would be maneuvered into place, mainly because of the weather and security conditions.

“As CENTCOM stands by to move the pier into position in the near future, and again, in partnership with USAID, we’re loading humanitarian aid onto the MV Sagamore, which is currently in Cyprus,” she said. “The Sagamore is a cargo vessel that will use the JLOTS system and will make trips between Cyprus and the offshore floating pier, as USAID and other partners collect aid from around the world.”

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Pentagon Deputy spokesperson Sabrina Singh holds a press briefing at the Pentagon in Arlington, Va. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

The unloading of the aid will be, as she called it, a “crawl, walk, run scenario.”

Once fully operational, 150 trucks will be available to move aid into Gaza. At first, though, a small number of trucks will be used to make sure the distribution system works.

BIDEN’S VISION FOR A PALESTINIAN STATE DOOMED, EXPERTS SAY: ‘AN EXPLICIT RECOGNITION OF HAMAS’

CENTCOM tweeted on X that,  ‘The pier will support @USAID and humanitarian partners to receive and deliver humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza.   @USTRANSCOM and @USEUCOM support the movement of #humanitarianaid. (CENTCOM)

Last week, U.S. Central Command posted photographs on X of the pier under construction by U.S. soldiers in the Mediterranean Sea, saying that the hulking metal platform “will support USAID and other humanitarian partners who will receive and deliver humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza.”

The Pentagon has said the estimated cost would nearly double the original estimate of $180 million. It also said the project will only be in use temporarily, for a period of three months.

The pier will be able to process up to two million meals a day for the people in Gaza, U.S. Central Command said.

Ruth Marks Eglash of Fox News contributed to this report.