The European Parliament will not investigate German conservative MEP Markus Ferber following a POLITICO investigation into his relationship with Dutch businessman Michael Heijmeijer.

The decision was made effective last week during Parliament’s Conference of Presidents (COP), a routine gathering of political group chairs and Parliament President Roberta Metsola.

The Parliament does not comment on COP discussions and there's no written record of the decision. However, two people who attended the meeting told POLITICO that the Parliament’s lawyers said an investigation into Ferber was unnecessary.

POLITICO’s article revealed that Heijmeijer in 2015 pitched a consulting scheme to the board of his company, Cfinancials. The advantage for Ferber, in Heijmeijer’s mind, was an opportunity to sell more than €1 million in consulting services on legislation he helped write, according to emails and board minutes from the businessman’s company.

Ferber, who hails from the European People’s Party, has denied any knowledge of this pitch. The Bavarian MEP and Heijmeijer have also said there was no economic gain from their relationship.

The Greens wrote to Metsola following POLITICO’s latest reporting, asking her to reopen an investigation that the Parliament launched into Ferber’s ties with Heijmeijer almost seven years ago. The probe ended in January 2018 without any disciplinary action.

Four NGOs also called on the Parliament to reopen the probe into Ferber in late March after the Greens sent their letter to Metsola, who comes from the EPP.

“We do not comment on specific cases,” a Parliament spokesperson told POLITICO when asked to formally communicate the COP’s decision. The spokesperson then outlined code of conduct rules that MEPs must abide by, which the Parliament recently updated in response to the Qatargate cash-for-influence scandal that played out last year.

“It is incredible, despite further evidence coming to light of Mr. Ferber seemingly using his legislative mandate as a personal business venture, the Parliament refuses to investigate the matter,” said Nick Aiossa, the director of Transparency International EU, one of the NGOs that called for a new investigation.

The Parliament’s legal services said there was no new information about Ferber’s relationship with Heijmeijer that warranted reopening an investigation, according to the two officials.

The lawyers were referencing a probe in 2017 that came after POLITICO revealed letters that Ferber had sent to CEOs of big money managers, pitching the Dutchman’s service. Heijmeijer’s service helped companies navigate important financial regulations that Ferber helped shape and usher into law, known as MiFID II.

The cabinet of former Parliament president, Antonio Tajani, of the EPP, in January 2018 “concluded that there is currently no violation of the Code of Conduct.”

“I would strongly advise the president and the legal services to take a hard look at the article and then verify the assertions,” said Green co-president, Philippe Lamberts, who described the Parliament's decision as unfortunate but not surprising.

“I wonder whether they have read the article," Lamberts said. "My reading of the article is that there are new facts, of plenty, and there’s every reason to reopen the case.”