There may be a major corruption scandal in the European Parliament (EP). Six people have been arrested. Among them are former MEP Pier Antonio Panzeri and EP vice-president Eva Kaili, who has since been impeached. They would have accepted large sums of bribes from Qatar. This is what we know now.
Homes of MEPs and their assistants in Belgium and Italy were searched last week. In total, the Belgian police would have found 1.5 million euros in Brussels. But it’s probably more money. The police also took computers and smartphones.
These are the six people arrested by the Belgian police:
- Eva Kali: Greek social democrat and one of fourteen vice-presidents of the European Parliament.
- Francisco Giorgi: Assistant in the European Parliament and Eva Kaili’s husband. He has since confessed to participating in bribery.
- Alexandros Kaili: Eva Kaili’s father. He was arrested when he left a hotel in Brussels with a suitcase full of cash.
- Pier Antonio Panzeri: Italian politician who was a member of the European Parliament from 2004 to 2019. Founder of the human rights organization Fight Impunity.
- Luca Visentini: General Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation, an international confederation of trade unions.
- NF: An Italian lobbyist who is not mentioned by name.
Luca Visentini and Eva Kaili’s father have since been released on conditions. The rest are still in prison awaiting trial. Kaili is said to have good ties with former MEP Panzeri because her husband Giorgi worked for the human rights organization Panzeri founded. This organization is now under a magnifying glass because of Panzeri’s involvement in the possible bribery scandal.
Based on ‘well-informed sources’, Belgian media reports that the Gulf state of Qatar and Morocco are behind the bribery scandal. The fact that Qatar is a suspect was not made clear by police in the documents released to the Belgian media. These are suspicions based on other sources for the journalists. But the fact that Morocco is also a suspect is written in black and white in a document such as the Belgian newspaper The morning has realized.
The hundreds of thousands of euros seized at the home of former MEP Panzeri are believed to have come from the Moroccan ambassador to Poland.
Morocco has not yet commented on the news. Why the Moroccan ambassador would have bribed Panzeri is not yet known by the media.
According to Belgian media, Qatar wants to influence the decisions that the EP takes about the Arab country. The Gulf state would also try to polish its image in the West by bribing some MEPs and their assistants with large sums. Whether this is correct and to what extent Qatar is guilty of bribery remains to be seen by further investigation, writes the Belgian. VRT NWS.
Qatar strongly contradicts all claims in a statement, saying it has done nothing wrong. “Any link by the Government of Qatar to such claims is unfounded and seriously misinformed.” A Qatari official told the news channel Al Jazeera. “Qatar operates in full compliance with international laws and regulations.”
In any case, it is clear that the mentioned MEPs have spoken positively about the Gulf state. For example, after a visit to Qatar, Eva Kaili is said to have said that there were ‘good labor rights’ in the country. But her group is very critical of the treatment of guest workers who built the World Cup stadiums. Qatar is also under international fire due to human rights violations and the death of guest workers.
Kaili is also said to have voted to lift the visa requirement for Qataris in the EU. Other MEPs find this remarkable because, according to them, Kaili was not even a member of the committee that voted on this. Through her lawyer, Kaili denies all charges.
Meanwhile, the credibility of the entire EU is coming under further pressure as a result of the events in Parliament. Including news agency Reuters and Financial Times reported on Monday that foreign ministers from various EU member states are questioning the EU’s credibility. They are demanding a full investigation into the alleged bribery.
Because of this corruption case, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wants an ethics committee to be set up to control all EU institutions. She is worried about the news about the bribery scandal. “It’s a question of trust in our institutions, and that requires stricter standards,” says von der Leyen. Prime Minister Mark Rutte has already announced that he also sees the advantage in such a committee.
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