European Parliament President Roberta Metsola told European Union leaders on Thursday that she will lead oversight reforms to prevent further corruption scandals at the body. Last week, the Belgian court announced the arrest of four people suspected of receiving bribes from Qatar in exchange for guaranteeing the Gulf country’s influence in the bloc.
To the 27 EU heads of government, Metsola said that the revealed scheme shows that “people linked to autocratic governments” were trying to subvert the continent’s democracy. The declaration was made at a summit of the bloc in Brussels.
Despite the promise of reforms, the president said there will always be people “for whom a bag of money is always worth the risk”. “It’s critical that these people understand that they will get caught. That there will be consequences. That our services will work and that they will face the fullest extent of the law,” she added.
Hours later, Metsola told a news conference that Parliament will investigate who can enter its premises, in addition to non-governmental organizations listed in its register. Still according to her, the House has already dismantled No Peace Without Justice, an Italian NGO whose general secretary, Niccolo Figa-Talamanca, is one of those accused of corruption and money laundering in the case.
The organization, for its part, said that Figa-Talamanca left office to protect the organization, but that it trusts that the investigation will show that he acted correctly.
On Tuesday (13), Parliament dismissed Greek MEP Eva Kaili as vice-president by 625 votes to 1 – in addition to 2 abstentions. She was arrested last week, accused of receiving bribes from Qatar.
One of the focuses of the investigation is a newly created real estate company with an Italian by the MEP in the Kolonaki neighborhood, a luxurious area in Athens — her 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.
Kaili denies the allegations. Her lawyer, Michalis Dimitrakopoulos, said on Tuesday that the MEP felt betrayed by colleagues, “who make it appear that she had a personal agenda with Qatar based on assumptions that she accepted bribes”.
One of Kaili’s duties as Vice-President was to represent the Speaker of Parliament. In November, when visiting the host country of the Cup, she congratulated the Minister of Labor for reforms and said that Qatar is a leader in the sector. The country’s labor legislation, however, is the target of criticism and reports of violations by human rights organizations.
The scandal, to some extent, could 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.
During this Thursday’s summit, by the way, the president of France, Emmanuel Macron, was questioned about his visit to the Middle Eastern country the day before to watch the French team play in the semifinals of the World Cup. “I take over completely,” he declared. “Four years ago I was with the national team in Russia and now I’m with them in Qatar.”
He, however, recognized the seriousness of the suspicions and praised what he called the transparency of the investigations. “We have to know the facts, understand who is involved and then take appropriate action,” he said.
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