STRASBOURG, Jan 16 (CGTN) - European Parliament President Roberta Metsola has pledged more action to clamp down on corruption, amid investigations into an alleged cash-for-influence scheme in the institution.

Belgian authorities have charged four people, including Greek lawmaker Eva Kaili and Italian former parliament member Pier Antonio Panzeri, over allegations they received cash and gifts from Qatar to influence decision-making.

Addressing lawmakers in Strasbourg, Metsola laid out a series of planned reforms including a new "revolving-door policy" to prevent parliamentarians from moving swiftly into lobbying work after their elected terms end.

Metsola also wants to beef up obligations on publicly reporting meetings and introduce tighter rules on who can access Parliament premises.

"We will do more to ensure that the public has clear information on our financial declarations and we will ensure more training on whistleblowing and compliance," Metsola said.

Responding to a leaked draft of the reforms on January 11, Director of Transparency International EU Michiel van Hulten said the proposals marked "a big step in the right direction," but went on to warn of "major shortcomings."

"The Parliament continues to rely entirely on self-enforcement of the rules. We know that doesn't work," he said.