Corruption scandal in the European Parliament (EP) takes place at a time when countries are in an energy crisis and the European Union (EU) is looking for alternatives to Russian gas, Aleksandra Palkova, researcher at the Latvian Institute of Foreign Policy (LAI), he told LETA.
LETA has already written that on December 9, in Brussels, the Belgian police arrested the socialist member of the EP Eva Kaili from Greece, who is one of the vice-presidents of the EP, on corruption charges. She has been removed as Vice-President of the European Parliament and is currently in pre-trial detention.
Kaili and three others – her partner, a former MEP and a lobbyist – were arrested in Belgium in early December on charges of belonging to a criminal organisation, money laundering and corruption. The four suspects are accused of influencing Parliament’s decisions in favor of Qatar in exchange for money and gifts.
Palkova said the scandal damaged the EU’s image and this can be considered one of the biggest corruption scandals in the bloc’s history. You drew attention to the fact that all this is happening in the current geopolitical situation, when there is a war in Ukraine and countries are fighting for energy resources.
The researcher stressed that the scandal is also linked to Qatar, an exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG), very important for Europe’s plans to overcome the energy crisis and in which EU countries have shown interest. For example, Germany has concluded contracts for the supply of gas from LNG terminals in Qatar.
According to the European Commission (EC), Qatar’s liquefied natural gas imports totaled just under 5% of EU gas imports this year, but Qatar’s importance to Europe’s energy security will increase thanks to the massive expansion of its liquefied natural gas production capacity and two major projects to be completed in 2026 and 2027.
“The image of the EP has been the most damaged, but one more nuance has to be taken into account: of all the EU institutions, residents of EU countries trust the EP the least, while the EC and the Court of justice are the most trusted The corruption scandal is another reason why they would trust the European Parliament least,” said the researcher.
When asked whether countries like Hungary or Russia could use this case in their public rhetoric, Palkova stressed that it is not entirely correct to put an EU country next to Russia, because not only their interests, but also their starting positions are completely different. According to her, Russia can use all means at its disposal to show that the EU is not united and that the bloc has problems that need to be solved.
“In my opinion, it is more important to talk not about what Russia or Hungary will do, but about how the EU will move forward in the current energy crisis. To solve the energy crisis, the EU institutions have set the road to become independent of Russian gas, but the countries would conclude contracts with alternative countries, including Qatar,” said the researcher.
He stressed that because of the scandal there have been discussions about whether the concluded agreements could be revised, however, the prevailing opinion in Europe is that the specific scandal and the trade should be separated. Trade with other countries must always be weighed against the moral implications, while making sure that security of supply can be guaranteed. In this case, when it comes to buying gas, Europe or Germany are interested in compensating for Russian gas losses, the researcher stressed.
Asked how the EP could recover from the corruption scandal, Palkova noted that many in Europe are calling for stricter transparency rules, while others argue that no rules will stop some officials from taking bribes large enough and that the fact that they have been caught all in all it shows that the system still works.
The researcher explained that EP President Roberta Metsola has already announced a reform package for 2023, which includes strengthening whistleblower protection systems, banning all unofficial parliamentary friendship groups, revising rules on interaction of MEPs with third countries and more control over what they can access in the EP. Palkova stressed that many of the reforms should have been adopted sooner.
According to the researcher, the EP will certainly try to improve its image, but the question remains whether the initiatives mentioned will help.
