The European Parliament was in shock on Monday, forced to react strongly after the imprisonment of the elected Greek Eva Kaili, a vice-president, charged with corruption in a case linked to Qatar which threatens to tarnish the image of the institution .
Ms. Kaili and three other people were imprisoned in Brussels on Sunday, two days after being arrested as part of an investigation into large payments of money allegedly made by the host country of the 2022 World Cup to influence European policy.
“These allegations are extremely concerning. It is a question of trust in the people at the heart of our institutions”, reacted the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, recalling having proposed the creation of an “independent authority” on questions of ethics.
The President of the Parliament, the Maltese Roberta Metsola, is due to speak at 5 p.m. local time at the opening of the monthly plenary session bringing together all MEPs in Strasbourg, France.
A meeting of the presidents of political groups has been convened to discuss this Belgian judicial investigation unveiled on Friday, according to two sources in the European Parliament.
Eva Kaili did not benefit from her parliamentary immunity, because the offense was found “in flagrante delicto”, explained a Belgian judicial source, specifying that “bags of tickets” were discovered in the apartment of the elected Greek socialist.
The council chamber will have to rule on his continued detention, as on that of the three other people imprisoned, within five days.
“Independent Authority”
Doha has denied being involved in corruption attempts. “Any allegation of misconduct by the State of Qatar is seriously misinformation,” a Qatari government official said on Saturday.
The European Parliament is in any case shaken.
“We will have to urgently strengthen our institution to fight against the poison of corruption”, claimed French MEP Aurore Lalucq, member of the second political group in Parliament, the Socialists and Democrats (S & D, left) including Eva Kaili was suspended as of this weekend.
The agenda for this last plenary session of 2022 risks being turned upside down by scandal and the debate scheduled for Wednesday on “the defense of democracies against foreign interference” promises to be agitated.
Faced with the “worst corruption scandal in the history” of the European Parliament, the French elected representative Manon Aubry (La France Insoumise), co-president of the group of the radical left, “demanded the resignation of the vice-president taken the bag, the organization of a debate with resolution and the immediate opening of a commission of inquiry into the failings of Parliament in this affair”.
“This is truly an incredible incident which must now be elucidated unequivocally and with all the rigor of the law,” reacted German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, before a meeting with her counterparts in Brussels.
The head of French diplomacy, Catherine Colonna, also wanted “all the light to be shed” on this case “which seems to be particularly serious”.
Former television presenter aged 44, Eva Kaili, MEP since 2014 and elected in January 2022 to one of the vice-presidencies of the European Parliament, went to Qatar in early November where she greeted, in the presence of the Minister Qatari Labor, the emirate’s reforms in this sector.
The organization of the World Cup by Qatar bears witness to the “historic transformation of a country whose reforms have inspired the Arab world”, Ms. Kaili also said on November 21 at the rostrum of Parliament.
Assets of Eva Kaili frozen
Eva Kaili was expelled on Friday evening from the Greek Socialist Party (Pasok-Kinal) of which she was already a controversial figure. His assets were frozen on Monday by the Greek Anti-Money Laundering Authority.
The European Parliament has 14 vice-presidents from different political groups.
Eva Kaili had seen herself on Saturday evening withdraw all the tasks delegated by President Roberta Metsola, including that of representing her in the Middle East region.
In the event of “serious misconduct”, the leaders of the political groups may, by a three-fifths majority, propose to Parliament that the office of a vice-president be terminated. MEPs must then vote on this proposal with a two-thirds majority of the votes cast.
In 2011, the European Parliament was rocked by another scandal when three MEPs and former ministers – Romanian, Austrian and Slovenian – were trapped by journalists from the weekly Sunday Times pretending to be lobbyists. They had agreed to table amendments on European bills, in particular in the banking sector, in exchange for remuneration of up to 100,000 euros.
They were all three sentenced by the courts of their country to terms ranging from two and a half to four years in prison.