Corruption scandal in the European Parliament. The prime suspect started to drool

chose Wednesday [18.1.2023] Luxembourg socialist Marc Angel as one of his 14 vice – presidents in place .

Although the scandal related to bribes from Qatar and Morocco (both countries deny it) so far affects only the center-left faction (S&D), the main clubs decided to keep the agreement from 2019 regarding the distribution of positions and give the place after Kaila to Anegl, appointed by the S&D.

Belgian police carried out numerous searches in December following allegations of a corruption scheme funded by Morocco to influence the deliberations of the European Parliament by bribing former and current MEPs and their aides.

Quatargate. Eva Kaili is one of the suspects in the corruption scandal

Four suspects are currently in custody in Belgium: Eva Kaili, Pier Antonio Panzeri (former Italian MEP and head of the NGO Fight Impunity), Francesco Giorgi (Kaili’s partner and Europarliamentary assistant) and Niccolo Figa-Talamanca (international activist with No Peace without Justice). . Panzeri’s wife and daughter were arrested in Italy and await extradition to Belgium.

In addition, at the request of the Belgian prosecutor’s office, the European Parliament this week began the process of waiving the immunity of two MEPs, namely Belgian Marc Tarabella and Italian Andrea Cozzolino. The final vote is scheduled for mid-February.

Kaila’s immunity was automatically lifted in December when the then deputy head of the European Parliament was – as explained by a Belgian investigating judge – caught red-handed when police found a bag with 150,000 euros. euros in cash in the apartment he shares with Giorgi. Hundreds of thousands of euros were also found by investigators in Kaila’s father’s bag in his hotel room in Brussels. Police said they had discovered a total of €1.5 million in bags and suitcases in apartments and other places associated with the suspects.

Corruption scandal. One of the suspects agreed to divulge details in exchange for a shorter sentence

Kaili and Figa-Talamanca declare their innocence. Meanwhile, Panzeri, who is suspected of brokering bribes between Qatar and Morocco and people from the European Parliament, has concluded a settlement with the judiciary, according to the Belgian prosecutor’s office yesterday. In return for limiting his sentence to a maximum of one year, Panzeri agreed to “disclose the identity of all those involved in his corruption scheme and details of payments and financial arrangements with the countries involved.”

This is only the second case in Belgium’s history of using the institution of “repentance” (introduced on the model of Italian anti-mafia laws), in which Panzeri – as reported by the Belgian media – has already revealed to investigators that he had transferred more than 120,000 euros to MEP Tarabella. euros in cash for services to Qatar.

Qatargate and Moscow’s influence. “We will check if some defend Russia to fill their bank accounts”

The authorities of the European Parliament initially appealed not to use the Qatargate scandal in inter-party disputes, but already in December the center-right European People’s Party (EPP) broke from this.

– This scandal is not an orphan. He didn’t come out of nowhere. It didn’t happen by itself. It has a name. He has his address. And he is [centrolewicowa] Group of Socialists and Democrats – announced the EPP. On the other hand, PiS members during yesterday’s debate in the European Parliament used Qatargate to try to discredit the previous activities of the European Parliament in the field of the rule of law.

Dominik Tarczyński, on behalf of the conservatives, called for the repeal of the resolution criticizing Poland and argued that they were based, among others, on on the reports of the Panzeri organization: – We will not allow Poland to be spit on by bribers from Brussels.

In turn, the French Nathalie Loiseau, on behalf of the Renew Europe faction, called for dealing with Russia’s influence. – Russia was listening to the extreme wings of this chamber. We will continue our efforts to see if some are defending out of conviction or simply filling up their bank accounts,” Loiseau said yesterday.

The European Parliament has proposed reforms on Qatargate

Roberta Metsola, the president of the European Parliament, last week proposed a 14-point reform plan to make corruption more difficult in the future along the lines revealed in Qatargate. Former MEPs would have to wait up to two years before they would be allowed to lobby in the European Parliament, they would no longer have permanent access to the premises of the European Parliament, but records of their visits and meetings would be kept.

Metsola’s plan also includes mandatory disclosure of meetings between MEPs and assistants, and random checks of groups in the register to ensure compliance. Similar rules for the register of meetings already apply to EU Commissioners and their close associates. In addition, entry in the “transparency register” will be a condition for entering the European Parliament for “all lobbyists, NGOs and representatives of interests”, i.e. also countries from outside.

These proposals are a big step in the right direction. They contain several long-awaited reforms. But there are also serious shortcomings. The European Parliament continues to rely entirely on self-enforcement. We know it doesn’t work. We need independent, external oversight, commented last week Michiel van Hulten, director of Transparency International EU. Tightening of the Metsola plan is now demanded by, among others, center-left authorities. Decisions should be made next month.

Has Qatar tarnished its image?

The Qatargate scandal broke out when Qatar hosted the FIFA World Cup, the culmination of the country’s government efforts to improve its reputation after criticism of, among other things, treatment of immigrant workers.

The European Parliament has a minor role in foreign policy. But while its human rights resolutions are not binding, they are sometimes the subject of diplomatic overtures by countries outside the EU that are the subject of them.

MEPs play a role in decisions to waive visa requirements, but in the case of Qataris, the acceleration of EU work in this direction was attributed rather to the gas (LNG) partnership with Qatar after the outbreak of war in Ukraine.

Author: Tomasz Bielecki