“This is not an isolated incident,” Transparency International said. “For several decades, Parliament has allowed the development of a culture of impunity (…) and a complete absence of independent ethical oversight.”
This control at the institution is “defective,” Alberto Alemanno, law professor at the College of Europe in Bruges, tweeted.
Five people were arrested Friday in Brussels following at least 16 raids as part of an investigation into alleged “substantial” payments from the Gulf state to influence decisions by MEPs.
The federal prosecutor did not name the country, but a judicial source close to the case confirmed to AFP that it was Qatar, according to media outlets Le Soir and Knack.
The case arose in the midst of the 2002 FIFA World Cup, when the host country had to make an effort to protect its reputation for respecting human rights, especially workers’ rights.
The case took on an additional dimension when the identity of the fifth person arrested on Friday evening was confirmed, namely the Greek MEP Eva Kaili, a 44-year-old former TV presenter who has become a figure of social democracy in your country. He is also Vice President of the European Parliament along with 13 other MEPs.
Hearings in the case of five suspects continued today in Brussels, a spokesman for the federal prosecutor said.
The action prompted Green and Social Democrat MEPs to announce that on Monday they would oppose the start of negotiations on visa liberalization for Qatari citizens in the European Union, as corruption is suspected in the country.
On Monday in Strasbourg, MEPs are due to approve the start of negotiations between the European Parliament and EU member states to finalize a text to ease the visa regime for travelers from Qatar and Kuwait.
The text, which already received a green light from member states at the end of June, exempts citizens of Qatar and Kuwait traveling to the EU bloc from the need to obtain a visa for a maximum period of 90 days, subject to mutual agreement with both countries. countries.
“Zero tolerance for corruption. The Greens will oppose a mandate to start visa liberalization talks with Qatar on Monday,” Greens MEP Terry Reintke said on Twitter.
For its part, the Social Democratic Group (SDG) calls for “the suspension of work on all dossiers and votes relating to the countries of the Persian Gulf, in particular on the liberalization of the visa regime.”
