Corruption in the European Parliament: Vice-President Eva Kaili loses her mandate

The Greek Eva Kaili was until then vice-president of the European Parliament like 13 other elected officials.

AFP - ERIC VIDAL

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3 mins

Arrested on Friday, December 9 by the Belgian police as part of an anti-corruption operation in connection with Qatar, the Greek Eva Kaili had her title and powers as vice-president withdrawn on Saturday. 

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The announcement fell in this Saturday by a statement from the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola.

“ 

In light of the ongoing judicial investigations carried out by the Belgian authorities, President Metsola has decided to suspend with immediate effect all the powers, duties and tasks that have been delegated to Eva Kaili in her capacity as Vice-President of the European Parliament

” , he says. 

As of Friday evening, Eva Kaili had been excluded from the Greek Socialist Party (Pasok-Kinal), which would also like to see her 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

 ”.

The MEP and four other people were arrested

in Brussels on Friday after at least 16 searches in an investigation into suspicions of “ 

substantial

 ” money payments by a Gulf country to influence the decisions of MEPs.

The investigation by Belgian judge Michel Claise targets facts of " 

corruption

 " and " 

money laundering

 " in an organized gang, according to the prosecution.

According to the Belgian newspaper

L'Echo

, "

 several bags full of banknotes 

" were discovered at the Brussels home of Eva Kaili, which the police searched after having surprised the father of the elected official himself in possession of a large quantity. of cash in 

a "suitcase

 ".

Culture of impunity

Among those arrested in Belgium, at least three are Italians or of Italian origin: the former socialist MEP Pier-Antonio Panzeri (who sat from 2004 to 2019), the general secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) Luca Visentini, as well as Francesco Giorgi, a parliamentary assistant from the S&D group, companion of Ms. Kaili.

Two other arrests were made in Italy, those of Mr. Panzeri's wife and daughter.

“ 

This is not an isolated incident

 ,” reacted the organization Transparency International the day after the police operation.

For several decades, Parliament has allowed a culture of impunity to develop (...) and a total absence of independent ethical control

 ".

The federal prosecutor's office did not name the Gulf country involved, but a judicial source familiar with the matter confirmed to Agence France-Presse that it was Qatar, as revealed by Belgian media Le

Soir

and

Knack

.

Any allegation of misconduct on the part of the State of Qatar testifies to serious misinformation

 ," a Qatari government official told AFP on Saturday.

The next session of Parliament, which starts Monday in Strasbourg, promises to be agitated.

French MEP Manon Aubry (radical left) demanded a new debate on the same subject, castigating Saturday " 

the aggressive lobbying of Qatar

 ".

The affair broke out in the middle of the 2022 World Cup, while the organizing country must make efforts to defend its decried reputation for respect for human rights, in particular those of workers.

(

With

AFP)

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  • European Union

  • Belgium

  • Italy

  • Qatar

  • Corruption