An anti-corruption operation by Belgian police at the European Parliament in connection with Qatar sparked strong reactions in Brussels on Saturday, with elected officials and NGOs calling for an urgent debate on improving ethical rules in the EU’s main institution. .
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“This is not an isolated incident,” responded Transparency International. “For many decades, Parliament has allowed a culture of impunity to develop (…) and a complete absence of independent moral regulation”.
This regulation at the institution is “flawed”, Alberto Alemanno, professor of law at the College of Europe in Bruges, added on Twitter.
Five people were arrested in Brussels on Friday after at least 16 searches in an investigation into suspected “substantial” payments by the Gulf country to influence MEPs’ decisions.
The federal prosecutor’s office did not name the country, but a judicial source familiar with the matter confirmed to AFP that it was Qatar, as disclosed by Le Soir and Naq Media.
“Any allegation of misconduct from the State of Qatar is evidence of serious misinformation,” a Qatari government official responded to AFP on Saturday.
The affair has erupted in the middle of the 2022 World Cup, but the organizing nation must make efforts to protect its denied reputation for respect for human rights, particularly for workers.
Above all, the file took on an additional dimension when the identity of the fifth person arrested on Friday evening was confirmed.
Greek MEP Eva Kaili is a 44-year-old former TV presenter who has become a figurehead of social democracy in her country. She also holds the title of Vice-President of the European Parliament, as do 13 other elected officials.
“Bags Full of Tickets”
Ms Kylie was immediately expelled from the Greek Socialist Party (Pasok-Kinal), which also wants her to give up her seat in the European Parliament. The Socialists and Democrats (S&D) group in the European Assembly announced its suspension “with immediate effect”.
As with Pasok, the group of Green MEPs has voiced Ms. Called for Kylie’s resignation.
On Saturday, the trial of the five suspects continued in Brussels, a spokesman for the federal prosecutor’s office said.
Pre-trial detention by the investigating judge must be decided within 48 hours of the arrest, i.e. Sunday at the latest.
According to the prosecution, the investigation by Belgian judge Michel Claij aimed at facts of “corruption” and “money laundering” within the organized gang.
Belgian newspaper L’Echo on Saturday reported that Eva Kylie’s Brussels home was found with “several bags full of notes” after police searched it after the elected official’s father was surprised to find himself in possession of large amounts of cash. In “Suitcase”.
According to information confirmed to AFP, at least three suspects arrested on Friday are Italians or of Italian origin: former Socialist MEP Pier-Antonio Panzeri (seated from 2004 to 2019), International Trade Union Confederation (CSI) general secretary Luca Vicentini, as well as a parliamentary assistant from the S&D group. Francesco Giorgi, Ms. Kylie’s partner.
“Severe Scandal”
In addition to the five in Belgium, two arrests were made in Italy, an Italian government source confirmed to AFP in Rome on Saturday. They are Mr. Panjeri’s wife and daughter.
Eva Kylie traveled to Qatar in early November, where she welcomed the emirate’s reforms in the sector in the presence of Qatar’s labor minister.
“Qatar is a leader when it comes to labor rights,” the Greek also said from the podium of the European Parliament on November 22.
These comments, which caused a stir in the ranks of the Left at that time, came to the minds of many MEPs when the announcement of the arrest of MLA Kaylee came out.
French Socialists denounced it as a “very serious scandal”, while environmentalists Michel Rivassi and David Cormand pointed to the “guilty complacency” of some Social Democrats (S&D) during a debate on Qatar at the last plenary session.
The next session, which begins Monday in Strasbourg, promises to be lively. French MEP Manon Aubry (Radical Left) on Saturday slammed “Qatar’s aggressive lobbying” and demanded a new debate on the same issue.
“We will do everything in our power to cooperate with justice,” Maltese Parliament President Roberta Metsola tweeted.
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