After the revelation of a large-scale corruption affair between MEPs and Qatar, which notably led to the indictment of the vice-president of Parliament, Eva Kaili, the questions are multiplying. In Strasbourg, the parliamentary session which opens on Monday, December 12, is likely to be eventful.
After the shock, the questions jostle the day after the indictment and arrest on Sunday, in Brussels, of the vice-president of the Parliament, the Greek Eva Kaili for alleged acts of “corruption”. Who knew? How will the legal proceedings unfold?
“ An investigation is underway and we are following it. “, specified, cautiously, the head of European diplomacy Josep Borrell, judging ” very worrying information on this case as the shock wave continues to spread.
“ An incredible incident that must be elucidated »
“ This is truly an incredible incident which must now be elucidated unequivocally and with all the rigor of the law, because it is also and above all about the credibility of Europe “, For her part estimated the German Minister of Foreign Affairs, Annalena Baerbock. ” This is a scandal we need to get the truth out about so we can make sure it doesn’t happen again. “, for his part insisted the head of Irish diplomacy, Simon Coveney.
The case concerns large payments allegedly made by Qatar to influence decisions within this major institution of the European Union. Three other people were also imprisoned by Belgian justice, two days after their arrest. According to the Belgian press, the former Italian MEP Pier-Antonio Panzeri, now head of the NGO Fight Impunity, was also imprisoned on Sunday.
On Monday, the Greek Anti-Money Laundering Authority announced that it would freeze all of Eva Kaili’s assets.
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German Greens MEP Daniel Freund says he is very surprised by the scale of the case, unheard of in the European Parliament, according to him. “ We know that for years there have been various states which have tried to influence, among other things through corruption, the positions of the European Union, but also of the European Parliament: we have seen everything that the Azerbaijan, we saw Russia, other states. But the magnitude here is still surprising, he points. Now we are waiting to see what the investigations will reveal. And he fears that this case will also affect other deputies.
Eva Kaili could not benefit from her parliamentary immunity, because the offense of which she is accused was noted ” in the act ” : of the “ ticket bags “Were found in the apartment of the elected socialist during a search.
” Reforms and strengthening of ethical rules »
And now, what will happen in Parliament? A parliamentary session opens this Monday in Strasbourg, and it promises to be agitated. ” All the members of the European Parliament will try to understand what types of decisions could have been influenced by this money arriving from Qatar, says Juliette Lelieur, professor of criminal law in Strasbourg and specialist in corruption issues. They are going to go through all the decisions that they might have made in the past that might have something to do with Qatar, and try to figure out when the influence might have taken place. »
” What we can expect is that there is a real political grip on this scandal, and that without waiting, there are strong positions taken by the European institutions, hopes Elsa Foucraut, consultant specializing in the fight against corruption and teacher at Sciences Po. And then, above all, that the prospects for reform and the strengthening of ethical rules be announced fairly quickly. There is a general tendency to say that there are two types of scandals: learner and non-learner scandals. And so, all we can hope for is that for this corruption scandal, the investigation can go to the end independently, and then that it is a learning scandal, that is to say a scandal that will contribute to strengthening the institutional rules. »
MEP Daniel Freund hopes, in any case, that this affair will push the European Parliament to strengthen the rules against corruption and to monitor the lobbying activities of third countries more closely. ” Firstly, third countries must be included in the register of lobbyists, he advances. Secondly, the meetings with these States should be published, whether it is with the deputies or with the commissioners. And after that, I think the existing rules should still be independently monitored. I obtained a large majority in the European Parliament last year for a proposal for such an independent authority. Now you really have to create it. We have been waiting for more than a year for the European Commission on this issue. And fourthly, I also think that we should still reflect: is it normal for Members of Parliament to be invited on luxury trips paid for by governments that are not always very friendly towards the European Union, dictatorships that actually pay for luxury trips for MPs? I think we should stop that. »
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