The focus is on an informal meeting planned by Parliament President Roberta Metsola for the afternoon with the leaders of the parliamentary groups, which, according to AFP information, is “about Kaili’s removal and further steps”. One of the probably biggest corruption scandals in the history of the EU Parliament is about investigations into suspected bribery and corruption, money laundering and attempts to influence political decisions by a Gulf emirate.
According to media reports, Kaili and five other suspects were arrested by Belgian authorities on Friday. During the search of 16 houses, 600,000 euros in cash were also secured. Four of those arrested remain in custody. It remains to be seen whether the allegations will be substantiated – the presumption of innocence applies.
Corruption affair in the EU Parliament
In connection with the corruption scandal in the European Parliament, four suspects were taken into custody on Sunday by arrest warrant. Several media reported that the suspended parliamentary vice-president Eva Kaili is said to be among them.
In response to the arrest, Metsola Kaili withdrew all powers, duties and responsibilities as one of the 14 Deputy Presidents of the European Parliament on Saturday. Only the EU parliamentarians can jointly decide on Kaili’s dismissal. Despite the required two-thirds majority, this should only be a formality.
Visa liberalization for Qatar wobbles
According to the Belgian media, the Gulf state could be behind the allegations of corruption, since Kaili had mainly praised Qatar. However, the Foreign Ministry in Qatar sharply rejected this. “Any connection by the Qatari government to the reported allegations is groundless and seriously uninformed.” Qatar operates in accordance with applicable international laws and regulations.
Still, the incident could have repercussions for the country. Specifically, representatives of several EU parliamentary groups spoke out on Sunday in favor of postponing the negotiations on visa facilitation for citizens of the emirate, which were supposed to start on Monday.
“If the European Parliament was possibly influenced with money from forces from abroad, the procedure in Parliament must first be stopped,” demanded the chairman of the CDU/CSU group in the conservative EPP group in the EP, Daniel Caspary. “In this situation, of course, there can be no visa liberalization for Qatar,” said German Green MEP Erik Marquardt: “The planned vote on this will either be referred back to the Interior Committee to draw the right conclusions, or we will vote against as a parliament visa liberalization.”
Qatar trip cancelled
According to AFP, a spokesman for the EU Parliament also confirmed on Sunday that a planned trip to Qatar by MEPs from the Foreign Affairs Committee would be canceled “due to the current circumstances”. In two weeks, a group of MPs should have traveled to Qatar and Saudi Arabia. The trip to Saudi Arabia is to take place as planned.
“Very seriously”
EU Economy Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni told Italian TV channel Rai 3 that the case appeared “very serious”. “If it were confirmed that someone took money to influence the opinion of the European Parliament, that would really be one of the most dramatic corruption stories in recent years.”
Referring to Kaili, German EU Parliament Vice-President Katarina Barley told Archyde.com: “The Social Democratic EP group has already suspended her and will also request her vote out of office as Parliament Vice-President.” can rule out.
Among other things, the Austrian EP Vice President Othmar Karas (ÖVP) said that Kaili should be removed from office. ÖVP delegation leader Angelika Winzig even put the Greek’s seat up for discussion. “If the allegations are true, she may no longer work as a member of the House,” said Tiny on Sunday.
Schaidreiter (ORF) on arrests
ORF correspondent Raffaela Schaidreiter talks, among other things, about the arrest of Eva Kaili and how it went. She also reports on the plenary week starting on Monday and how people will react to the event there.
Belgian Social Democrats summon MEPs
Caspary also asked the Socialists for clarification as to whether other MPs or employees of the parliamentary group could be affected or who might have been aware of the allegations of corruption in the room.
In Belgium, the Socialist Party (PS) has already summoned MEP Marc Tarabella to an internal party committee in connection with the corruption scandal in the European Parliament. The MEP will be heard in the coming days, as the party announced on Sunday via Twitter.
The Belgian public prosecutor had previously announced that the house of another MP had been searched in the corruption complex surrounding the European Parliament on Saturday evening, but did not give a name. According to media reports, it is Tarabella. In a first reaction to the Belga news agency, he asserted that he had “absolutely nothing to hide”.