Apparently this is one of the biggest scandals in the history of the European Parliament
On Monday, Belgian investigative authorities raided the European Parliament’s offices in Brussels as part of an investigation into allegations that parliament officials received bribes from Qatar, which is now hosting the World Cup.
This is the twentieth inspection conducted by the authorities since Friday.
European Parliament President Roberta Metsola warned members of Parliament that “democracy is under attack”, as she put it.
Belgian police have accused four of these deputies, including Greek Eva Kaili, vice-president of the European Parliament, of receiving bribes from the state of Qatar, which in turn denies any wrongdoing.
Eva Kylie’s lawyer says her client is innocent.
Lawyer Michalis Dimitrakopoulos added on Greek television on Tuesday that his client “states her innocence and that she has nothing to do with a Qatari bribe”.
Asked if police had found any money at Eva Kylie’s home, the lawyer said: “I have no idea if any money was found or how much.”
Members of the European Parliament will debate the issue of this scandal on Tuesday.
Belgian investigative authorities said cash worth around $632,000 was found in the home of a suspected MP. More than $158,000 was also found in another MEP’s apartment, as well as several hundred thousand euros in a suitcase at a Brussels hotel. The police also seized computers and mobile phones to verify their contents.
Inspections took place in Brussels and Italy. The data processing of 10 European Parliament employees has been ‘frozen’, to avoid the disappearance of data essential to the investigation.
Prosecutors said in a statement on Sunday that four of the suspects – who had been arrested by Belgian police – had been charged with “participation in a criminal organisation, money laundering and corruption”.
Eva Kaili, a member of the European Parliament for eight years, was suspended from her post as one of the 14 vice-presidents of the Parliament, Metsola.
Kylie was also suspended from the European Parliament’s Socialists and Democrats group, as well as expelled from the centre-left Hellenic Socialist Movement party.
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Eva Kylie was arrested on Saturday and her financial assets were reportedly frozen
And it has been reported that investigating authorities in Greece have frozen all of Kylie’s financial assets.
Six people were arrested on Friday as part of an investigation into allegations that Qatar bribed European Union officials to gain influence. Subsequently, two of these detainees were released.
The identities of the suspects have not been made public, but it has been understood that Kylie is among the accused.
The other three defendants have Italian citizenship, including parliamentary assistant Francesco Giorgi, Kylie’s lifelong companion.
Among the suspects is former European Parliament member Pier Antonio Panzieri, who now heads rights group Fight Immunity, sources said. It was also reported that Panziri’s wife and daughter were among those arrested.
According to sources, among the suspects there is also the secretary general of the International Confederation of Trade Unions, Luca Vesentini.
The BBC correspondent from Brussels, Jessica Parker, says that the details released by the Belgian authorities on the accident in recent days have left many circles in the European Union in shock.
Members of the European Parliament told our correspondent they were shocked by both the scope and clarity of the allegations.
European democracy is under attack
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The European Parliament is the only directly elected body in the European Union
“Open, free and democratic societies are under attack,” said Metsola, president of the European Parliament.
The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said these allegations were “very serious”, calling for the establishment of an ethics monitoring body to ensure compliance in the euro area.
Observers and opposition MPs said the corruption probe could represent one of the biggest corruption scandals in the European Parliament’s history.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, despite his country’s membership of the European Union, made cynical comments about the European bloc after these allegations of corruption surfaced.
The federal prosecutor in Belgium said he suspected a Gulf country of exerting influence to influence economic and political decisions over several months, particularly in decisions related to targeted aid.
Media outlets indicated that the country accused of corruption and bribery was Qatar, but the Qatari government confirmed that any allegations of wrongdoing were “grossly misleading information”.
Kylie’s responsibilities in the European Parliament as Vice-President of the European Parliament include Middle Eastern matters and she is known to have defended Qatar in the past.
And the European Parliament is the only body to be directly elected, since the voters of the 27 countries that make up the Union go to elect about 705 members who meet to examine and vote on the legislative proposals envisaged by European law.
Members of the European Parliament are generally immune from investigation, except in cases of flagrante delicto, according to Parliament’s regulations.
