Eva Kaili, 44, was a presenter on Greek television. (IG evakaili)
The president of the European Parliament (EP), Roberta Metsola, announced on Monday an “internal investigation” and the suspension of visa exemption negotiations with Qatar in the midst of a major scandal over the alleged payment of bribes to members of the Union Legislative Union (EU) by that Arab country.
“Make no mistake, the European Parliament is under attack, European democracy is under attack“, Metsola said in an EP plenary session at its headquarters in Strasbourg, France, and his first public comments on the scandal, which broke last Friday, three days ago.
“We will launch an internal investigation that analyzes all the facts,” he added at the opening of the monthly plenary session that brings together all MEPs, the AFP news agency reported.
This weekend, Greek Social Democrat MEP Eva Kailiwho is one of the vice-presidents of the European Parliament, and three other people were Arrested and Charged in Spectacular Bribery Scandal apparently paid by Qatar to have influence in the Legislative of the community bloc.
Kaili’s address in Brussels was searched by Justice on Friday night, and that of another Socialist MEP, the Belgian Marc Tarabella, on Saturday night.
Visibly dejected, Metsola specified before the plenary session that she had personally accompanied one of the house raids carried out in Brussels, and given the magnitude of the scandal, she announced that she had put the brakes on an agreement with Qatar for the exemption of visas.
“I had planned to announce the opening of the negotiating mandate for the visa waiver with Qatar and Kuwait. In light of the investigations, this report must be returned to commission,” said the politician, born on the Mediterranean island of Malta.
Kaili, a 44-year-old former TV presenterand three other people were charged and jailed in Brussels yesterday on a preventive basis, two days after being arrested as part of an investigation into payments allegedly made by Qatar to influence European policy.
“These allegations are extremely worrying. It is a matter of trust in the people who are at the heart of our institutions, and that trust presupposes high levels of independence and integrity,” said the head of the European Commission, the EU Executive, Ursula von der Leyen.
The Maltese Roberta Metsola, president of the European Parliament. (AFP photo)
The head of EU diplomacy, Josep Borrell, who was president of the European Parliament, also He stated that the accusations were “very worrying” and “very serious”.
A Belgian judicial source told AFP that Kaili was unable to benefit from her parliamentary immunity because she was arrested in flagrante delicto, adding that bags full of cash were found in her apartment.
In Brussels, the Italian union leader Luca Visentini, who was to give a statement in the case, reported Monday that he had been released on Sunday without charges against him.
In the middle of the scandal the Government of Qatar denied any relationship with the case. “Any accusation of misconduct by the State of Qatar is serious misinformation,” a Qatari government official said on Saturday.
Instead, the EP was shocked by the scandal. “We will have to urgently strengthen our institution to fight against the poison of corruption”said French MEP Aurore Lalucq, a member of the Social Democrat bloc that suspended Kaili over the weekend.
Parliament’s agenda for this week includes a discussion on “the defense of democracies against foreign interference”, which in light of this scandal changed its meaning and promises to be a hectic day.
In Brussels, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said what happened in the EP “is an incredible incident.” Now, she added her, the whole episode “It must be clarified unequivocally and with all the rigor of the law.”
For his part, the Irish Foreign Minister, Simon Coveney, defended the start of a “complete and transparent investigation” to find out “what has happened.”
Saturday, Metsola stripped Kaili of the functions he had delegated to her, among them that of representing it in the Middle East region, although not of its MEP bench.
Left-wing MEPs, including environmentalist Philippe Lamberts on behalf of the Greens in EP, they called for the resignation of Kaili, excluded on Friday from the Greek socialist party Pasok-Kinal.
This Monday, the Anti-Money Laundering Authority of Greece froze “bank accounts, safe deposit boxes, companies and any other financial assets” of the MEP and her relativesexplained the president of the authority, Haralambos Vourliotis.
It is also targeting a newly created real estate company in the luxurious Kolonaki neighborhood of Athens, allegedly set up by Kaili and his Italian partner, also imprisoned in Belgium, the representative added.
The last big scandal in the European Parliament was in 2011, when British journalists posed as lobbyists and made three MEPs accept large sums of money to present legislative amendments that benefit the banking sector.
All were prosecuted and sentenced to prison terms by the courts of their respective countries.
