European Parliament Vice-President Eva Kaili in custody for “bags of money from Qatar”

A corruption scandal rocks the European Parliament as MEPs gather in Strasbourg on Monday for what promises to be a heated session. Four out of six people questioned over the weekend as part of a police investigation have been charged.

Greek Socialist MEP Eva Kaili, one of those charged, has been remanded in custody after Belgian investigators allegedly found “bags of money” in her home. The police investigation is looking into possible influence peddling by Qatar. Doha has denied the charges.

This affair is “shameful and intolerable” and “very seriously” damages the reputation of the Parliament, European Commissioner for the Economy Paolo Gentiloni said on Sunday.

“If it were confirmed that someone took money to try to influence the opinion of the European Parliament, it will truly be one of the most dramatic corruption stories of recent years,” he said. -he adds.

Kaili, one of more than a dozen deputy speakers of parliament, was stripped of her responsibilities after her arrest. She was also responsible for representing Speaker of Parliament Roberta Metsola in the Middle East.

The Greek politician was also suspended by the Socialists and Democrats and expelled from the centre-left Pasok party.

The parliamentarians said they were shocked by the arrests linked to the detention of family members of a former Italian MEP, to whom the Qataris are said to have offered a holiday worth €100,000.

On Friday, Belgian police staged 16 raids across Brussels. Around €600,000 in cash was seized, along with computer equipment and mobile phones.

They came amid investigations into alleged “substantial” cash payments by the Gulf state to sway MPs.

The Belgian federal prosecutor’s office did not name the country, but a source familiar with the matter confirmed to AFP that it was Qatar, which other media also reported.

The tip of the iceberg

Nicholas Aiossa is Deputy Director, Head of Policy Transparency and Advocacy at International EU and leads the work on EU Political Integrity. He told Euronews he was surprised it had taken so long for the revelation to only come to light now, “given the number of MPs who would be implicated in this matter”.

Aiossa went on to say that “staff members, other stakeholders and some of the drip petty corruption that we have seen among MPs for years now. In terms of allowances or other offences, yes, that might just be the tip of the iceberg.”

Qatar has rejected any attempt to link accusations of lawmakers’ misconduct to the Gulf state.

“Any allegation of misconduct by the State of Qatar demonstrates serious misinformation,” a Qatari government official told AFP on Saturday.

The European Parliament is due to vote this week on a proposal to extend visa waiver to the EU for Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and Ecuador. Some lawmakers have suggested that the debate and vote be postponed.

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