Unanimously, the leaders of the political blocs of the European Parliament decided, this Tuesday (13), to remove the Greek Eva Kaili from the position of vice-president of the body. She would be involved in alleged corruption schemes involving Qatar, host of the World Cup.
Kaili, one of 14 vice-presidents of parliament, is among four people arrested and charged in Belgium over the weekend over allegations that the Middle Eastern country gave them money and gifts in exchange for influence in the bloc.
The 44-year-old MP was arrested after Belgian investigators found bags full of cash at her residence. Last Friday (9), Belgian prosecutors searched 16 houses and seized at least €600,000 euros (R$3.3 million) in Brussels as part of the investigation.
One of the focus of the operation is a real estate company recently created together with an Italian by the MEP in the Kolonaki neighborhood, a luxurious area in Athens. The partner is also investigated.
At the weekend, the European Parliament had already suspended Kaili from her duties in the House, and her party, Pasok (Pan-Hellenic Socialist Party), said it would expel her from its ranks.
This Tuesday, the MEP’s defense spoke for the first time and ruled out that she had received bribes from Qatar. “She has nothing to do with Qatar’s funding, explicitly and unequivocally,” her lawyer, Michalis Dimitrakopoulos, told Greek television.
In any case, the scandal sparked outrage in Brussels and raised concerns among EU lawmakers and political leaders that the episode could damage the bloc’s image.
For this reason, the President of Parliament, the Maltese Roberta Metsola, announced on Monday that the body should soon open an internal investigation to investigate the alleged scheme. “We are going to start a reform process to see who has access to our facilities and how these NGOs and individuals are funded and what links they have with third countries,” she said.
Faced with the scandal, the agenda of the parliamentary plenary this Tuesday, in Strasbourg, was modified, and will be dedicated to debating the case. The removal of Kaili approved by the leaders of the blocs, incidentally, must be confirmed by the other parliamentarians. In addition, on Thursday (15), a text calling for more transparency in the European institutions will be voted on.
The scandal, in a way, could also affect the relationship between the bloc and Qatar — which, with the Ukraine War, became an option for the supply of gas; last month, Doha reached an agreement with Germany for at least 15 years.
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