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| Ms. Eva Kaili was suspended from 'all powers, duties and work... as Vice President of the European Parliament'. Photo: Ms. Eva Kaili at the Greek Parliament , Athens, November 2011. (Source: CNN) |
Senior EP official accepts bribes
In December 2022, the Belgian Federal Police conducted many searches of the residences and workplaces in Brussels of 16 current and former European parliamentarians and assistants to European parliamentarians; arrested 5 people, seized nearly 1.5 million Euros in cash to investigate a large bribery case.
The most notable of these is Ms. Eva Kaili , Vice President of the EP - one of the most powerful figures - accused of being part of a money laundering and bribery ring to influence EP policies in a direction that benefits "a Middle Eastern country".
Ms Kaili is also accused of being part of a criminal organisation representing a “Gulf state” believed to be Qatar. The other four are Ms Kaili’s husband Francesco Giorgi, who is also an assistant to Italian MEP Andrea Cozzolino; Ms Kaili’s father Alexandros Kailis; Luca Visentini, head of the International Trade Union Confederation; and Pier Antonio Panzeri, an EP MEP from 2004 to 2019. Mr Francesco Giorgi is an adviser on Middle East and North Africa issues at the EP and founder of Fight Impunity, an NGO focused on human rights violations.
Qatar's corruption scandal at the European Parliament (known as Qatargate) is the biggest scandal in the European Parliament involving Qatari officials allegedly paying large sums of cash to EU lawmakers in exchange for influence in Brussels: Agreements with EU countries on natural gas; proposals to allow Qataris to travel visa-free to the Schengen area...
However, the Qatari delegation to the EU denied the allegations and affirmed that Qatar always complies with international laws and regulations; all accusations against the country are baseless.
Meanwhile, according to La Repubblica, Ms. Kaili admitted to Belgian investigators that she had asked her father to hide a suitcase full of cash when police searched it as part of an investigation into bribery allegations involving Qatar. Ms. Kaili said she had informed two EP officials about the police operation.
Citing a court document, the local newspaper said that Ms Kaili “had prior knowledge” of her husband’s involvement in the bribery scheme and knew that “suitcases full of money had been delivered to her apartment”.
Cypriot MEP Loucas Fourlas said Kaili approached him to amend an EP report on human rights in Qatar, toning down its harsh tone. Ahead of the 2022 World Cup, which Qatar will host, EP MEPs adopted a softer-than-expected resolution on human rights in Qatar.
| According to Mr. Michiel van Hulten, Director of Transparency International (an anti-corruption NGO) and a former member of the EP, the European Parliament needs to be “radically reformed”, because for decades this organization has maintained a culture of impunity, loose financial controls and no independent control. |
And the consequences of the scandal
The EP’s corruption allegations not only affect relations with Qatar but also negatively impact the reputation of EU public institutions. The EU is a political, economic and military union of 27 member states in Europe.
The treaties signed between EU member states recognise that the EU is founded on the values of human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities... in a society of diversity, non-discrimination, tolerance, justice, solidarity and gender equality”. On the world stage, the EU promotes human rights issues, thereby giving the organization a reputation that money cannot buy.
As a result, European politicians and commentators have said the EP corruption scandal has had a major impact on politics on the continent. “This will go down in history as one of the biggest and most shocking breaches – possibly the biggest scandal in European politics,” said Alberto Alemanno, professor of EU law at HEC Paris, one of the world’s leading business and management schools, a leader in research and training in management sciences.
Many EU members have voiced concerns about the bloc’s credibility due to the incident. EU officials have also considered the incident a serious one, affecting the credibility of public authorities. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said: “ This is an unbelievable incident that needs to be fully clarified by law. This is a matter of credibility for the whole of Europe .”
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto: “From now on, the EP will not be able to speak credibly about fighting corruption.” In response to Politico, European Council President Charles Michel said that the corruption case that led to the arrest of former EP Vice President Eva Kaili is destroying the EU’s credibility at a time when the bloc is vulnerable.
European Commission (EC) President Usurla Von der Leyen stressed: “ The allegations against the EP Vice President related to corruption in Qatar are of the greatest concern, very serious. It is a matter of people's trust in our institutions ”. Ms. Leyen said she would consider the proposal to set up an independent body to deal with issues related to ethics in European institutions.
The impact of the Qatargate scandal is “very serious and damaging to the EU’s credibility,” making it harder to deal with Europe’s many crises, according to European Council President Charles Michel. Michel stressed the negative impact of Qatargate and the need for more effective safeguards.
Qatar is the EU’s second-largest supplier of liquefied natural gas after the United States, and its importance to Europe’s energy security will increase as Russian gas dwindles. A Qatari diplomat has responded to the Belgian corruption investigation by saying it could negatively impact relations and gas supplies if allowed to get out of hand.
The warning implies that Qatar could follow Saudi Arabia and other regional rivals in weaponizing oil and gas. Qatar is one of 17 non-NATO allies of the United States and hosts the forward headquarters of the US Central Command (CENTCOM), which covers the Middle East and much of Asia. Clearly, Qatar is not a country that European leaders despise, and Qatargate is an embarrassment they would rather forget.
| The Qatar corruption scandal in the European Parliament (Qatargate) is a political scandal involving politicians, political staff, lobbyists, civil servants and their families, alleging corruption, money laundering and organised crime linked to the state of Qatar in exchange for influence in the European Parliament. Qatargate is causing significant reputational damage to the EU, potentially undermining the EU's achievements, affecting voter turnout and support for centrist parties in the 2024 elections. |
The EU needs to be reformed.
The scandal has exposed deep structural flaws in EU policymaking and the extent of political manipulation by some individuals. A series of investigative articles in Politico, Euronews and the European press have shown that an unchecked power structure creates opportunities for corruption to flourish.
The Qatargate scandal appears to have knocked the EU off its pedestal as a global champion of human rights and the rule of law. Brussels has held “authoritarian regimes” like Hungary and China accountable for their democratic failures by wielding its famous “soft power.”
Little wonder, then, that some conservative nationalist leaders with authoritarian tendencies have had difficulty containing their glee at the Qatargate revelations. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who has suffered from the EU withholding some of its funding because of perceived shortcomings in Hungary’s democracy, has even said the EP should be abolished. News of Qatargate has also been amplified by government-friendly media in Hungary and Poland.
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| Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orban has even said the EP should be abolished. |
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has repeatedly called on EU institutions to be “open and above reproach on ethics, transparency and integrity if Europeans are to be asked to trust the bloc.” In 2019, she tasked EC Vice President Vera Jourova (Czech Republic) with setting up “an independent ethics body for all EU institutions.” But three years after the Qatargate scandal broke, the proposal has been stuck in limbo among EU institutions.
Director of Transparency International (an anti-corruption NGO) and former member of the EP, Michiel van Hulten, said that the EP needs to be “radically reformed”, because for decades the organisation has maintained a culture of impunity, lax financial controls and a lack of independent oversight.
In response to the scandal, EP President Roberta Metsola has pledged to tighten the organisation’s rules. She wants to be able to strip parliamentarians of their previous privileges if they “use their position to lobby for anything or anyone or any country”. This is part of a 10-point plan to upgrade transparency requirements in the EP, which will include strengthening the system of whistleblower protection and conducting a full review of all existing laws.
The case is still being clarified, but in any case, the EU's credibility has been severely damaged; the EU's judgment on the values of human dignity, freedom, democracy, fairness, the rule of law and human rights will be doubted and weakened.
But there is still time for Parliament to tighten its rules on preventing conflicts of interest before next year’s elections. The existing code of conduct could be extended to former MEPs and their aides. Qatargate could open up new opportunities for MEPs to work towards agreeing an independent ethics body for all EU agencies.
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