European Parliament Vice-President Eva Kaili has also been suspended from the Socialists and Democrats Group and expelled from the Greek centre-left Pasok party. File image/AP
“The European Parliament, dear colleagues, is under attack. European democracy is under attack and our free and democratic societies are under attack,” said Roberta Metsola, president of the European Parliament after Belgian police arrested four people in a high-profile corruption case, which reportedly involves Qatar.
The arrests come on the heels of an investigation that believe FIFA World Cup host Qatar bribed current and former European Parliament officials to try and influence their decisions at the highest levels.
Earlier on Friday, Belgian police raided 16 properties across Brussels and seized EUR600,000 (Rs 5.23 crore) in cash along with computers and phones. Among those charged are Eva Kaili, European Parliament vice president, and her partner Francesco Giorgi. The others caught up in the probe include Pier Antonio Panzeri — former member of the European Parliament, the head of a Brussels-based union and an unnamed Italian national.
Following the arrests of four people on charges of corruption and money-laundering, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen expressed concern, saying the accusations were “very serious.” German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said the response will test “the credibility of Europe.”
As the scandal that threatens to trash European Union democracy rages on, Firstpost simplifies the entire issue — from those arrested to what exactly happened. Read on to find out.
Eva Kaili, name on everyone’s lips
The biggest name to be embroiled in this scandal is European Parliament Vice-President Eva Kaili. The 44-year-old was a Greek member of the European Parliament and one of its vice presidents.
A graduate of architecture, civil engineering and European affairs, the former journalist for MEGA Channel in Greece was arrested and charged with taking part in a criminal organisation, money laundering and corruption.
She has also been suspended from the Socialists and Democrats Group and expelled from the Greek centre-left Pasok party.
In 2014, Kaili ran for the European Parliament and joined the powerful Socialist & Democrats (S&D) group and acquired the reputation of being media-friendly and approachable.
According to Euronews, her salary as a MEP (member of European Parliament) is EUR7,146 (Rs 6.22 lakh) per month, together with a monthly general allowance of EUR4,778 (Rs 4.16 lakh) and reimbursed travel expenses.
Eva Kaili and her partner Francesco Giorgi, a parliamentary assistant with the European Parliament’s Socialists and Democrats group, are both involved in a corruption probe implicating World Cup hosts Qatar. File image/AFP
As time progressed and she became a part of several committees, including the Delegation for relations with the Arab Peninsula (DARP), Kaili in 2021 was named one of the 14 vice-presidents of the European Parliament.
Following her arrest, her previous speeches and interventions have come under scrutiny with all searching for hints that she might have had close ties with Qatar.
And recent posts do show a trend that could spell trouble for her. She travelled to the Gulf country in early November and held several meetings — with the prime minister, labour minister and others.
She also delivered a speech in Parliament, praising Qatar’s labour reforms and describing the World Cup host as “good neighbours and partners”. She had then said: “Today, the World Cup in Qatar is proof, actually, of how sports diplomacy can achieve a historical transformation of a country, with reforms that inspired the Arab world.”
She had also accused Europeans of holding double standards against Qatar. Earlier in the month, she also supported visa liberalisation for Kuwaitis and Qataris in which they would be allowed to travel within EU’s Schengen visa without a visa. Interestingly, she wasn’t even a member of that committee.
Qatar’s reaction
While Qatar hasn’t officially been named in the probe, investigators suspect that the desert country used money and gifts to influence economic and political decisions in the Parliament.
However, Doha has denied any involvement in the alleged corruption scandal. On Sunday, the Qatari Mission to the European Union said that it “categorically rejects any attempts to associate it with accusations of misconduct.”
Europe’s shock
The alleged corruption scandal has left members of the European Parliament shell-shocked and also invites questions on the transparency in EU institutions.
“This will go down in history as one of the greatest and most shocking violations — maybe the largest scandal in European politics, which hopefully is going to trigger some reaction from political leaders… in pushing for reform,” Alberto Alemanno, a professor of European Union Law at HEC Paris and founder of The Good Lobby, a non-profit committed to ensuring equal access to power in European policy-making, said to Politico.
German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock said the “full force of law” must be used in the case. “This is about the credibility of Europe, so this has to trigger consequences in various areas,” she said.
A woman walks near the entrance of the European Parliament in Brussels. AFP
Michiel van Hulten, director of Transparency International EU, said in a statement, quoted by the Washington Post: “While this may be the most egregious case of alleged corruption the European Parliament has seen in many years, it is not an isolated incident.”
He added that the European Parliament has “allowed a culture of impunity to develop” and further said that it was time that the European Commission publish its “proposal on the creation of an independent EU ethics body, with powers of investigation and enforcement.”
With inputs from agencies
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