The authorities said the investigation was regarding a suspected criminal organization and allegations of corruption and money laundering. Vice-President Eva Kaili was expelled from her Greek party, the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK), as a result of the investigation.
The public prosecutor’s office did not say which Gulf state is allegedly trying to influence parliament. According to research by the French-language Belgian daily “Le Soir” and the Flemish-language weekly “Knack”, it is the Emirate of Qatar.
One accused former MEP is said to be the Italian Social Democrat Pier Antonio Panzeri, who sat in Parliament from 2004 to 2019 and now heads the non-governmental organization (NGO) Fight Impunity, which opposes human rights violations.
International Trade Union Confederation involved
According to “Le Soir” and “Knack”, a parliamentary staff member and the chairman of another NGO were also arrested – as was the general secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), the Italian Luca Visentini. The ITUC said on its website that the organization was “aware of the information disseminated in the press” but declined to comment “at this time”.
Visentini spoke regarding the situation of workers in Qatar in an interview earlier this week. In the conversation, he called in particular for “continuing to put pressure on the authorities and employers” in order to achieve better wages and more mobility at work.
Vice President expelled from party
On November 21, the Greek Kaili gave a speech in the European Parliament on the World Cup in Qatar. In it, she called the event “proof that sports diplomacy can bring regarding historic change in a country whose reforms have inspired the Arab world”. Qatar has played a pioneering role in labor rights, for example.
Party leader Nikos Androulakis informed regarding Kaili’s expulsion from the party on Friday. Kaili has been an MEP since 2014 and one of 14 Vice-Presidents of Parliament since 2022. According to her CV on the parliamentary website, from 2004 to 2007 she was a newsreader and journalist, and later also a PR consultant in Greece.
Cash and cell phones confiscated
According to the public prosecutor’s office, the Belgian police have suspected for several months that a Gulf state is trying to influence the political and economic decisions of the European Parliament. Substantial sums of money or gifts in kind are said to have been distributed to persons in Parliament who held a political or strategic position. According to the public prosecutor’s office, 600,000 euros in cash and mobile phones were confiscated during the searches.
A spokesman for the European Parliament said on request that there was no comment on ongoing investigations. However, one will fully cooperate with the responsible authorities. The Socialist Group in Parliament made a similar statement. The faction has zero tolerance for corruption. At the same time, work in Parliament on all issues affecting the Gulf States and the plenary votes on them would have to be suspended.
The co-chair of the parliament’s anti-corruption working group, the German Daniel Freund, was shocked by the investigation. “The allegations must be fully clarified,” said the Green politician. Money should not play a role in the decisions in Europe’s largest parliament. There is a huge loss of trust.
