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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, 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 organization 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 advisor on Middle East and North African affairs at the EP and founder of Fight Impunity, an NGO focused on human rights violations.
The Qatar corruption scandal at the EP (referred to as the Qatargate scandal) is the biggest scandal of the EP 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 to investigate bribery allegations related to Qatar. Ms. Kaili said she 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, to tone down its harsh tone. MEPs passed a softer-than-expected resolution on human rights in Qatar ahead of the 2022 World Cup, which Qatar will host.
| 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 “radical reform” 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 consisting of 27 member states in Europe.
The treaties signed between EU member states recognize 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, politicians and commentators in Europe have assessed that the EP corruption scandal has had a major impact on politics on the continent. Mr. Alberto Alemanno, Professor of EU Law at HEC Paris (one of the world's leading business and commerce schools, leading in research and training in management sciences) commented: "This case will go down in history as one of the biggest and most shocking breaches - possibly the biggest scandal in European politics."
Many EU members have voiced concerns about the bloc's credibility due to this incident. EU officials also consider this a serious incident, affecting the credibility of public agencies. 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 talk about fighting corruption credibly.” Responding to Politico, European Council President Charles Michel said 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 confidence in our institutions .” Ms. Leyen said she would consider the proposal to set up an independent body to deal with ethics issues 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. Mr. Michel emphasized 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 supplies dwindle. 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 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 organized crime involving 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 moderate parties in the 2024 elections. |
The EU needs to be reformed
It can be seen that the scandal has exposed deep structural weaknesses in the EU's policy-making process and at the same time revealed the extent of political manipulation by some individuals. A series of investigative articles in Politico, Euronews and the European press have all shown that an unchecked power mechanism 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 “dictatorships” like Hungary and China accountable for their democratic failures by wielding its famous “soft power”.
It is therefore little surprise that some conservative nationalist leaders with authoritarian tendencies have had difficulty containing their glee at the Qatargate revelations. Having suffered from the EU withholding some financial funds because of perceived democratic shortcomings in Hungary, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has even said the EP should be abolished. The Qatargate story 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 keep faith with the bloc.” In 2019, she tasked EC Vice-President Vera Jourova (Czech Republic) with setting up “a common independent ethics body for all EU institutions.” But when the Qatargate scandal broke three years later, the proposal remained stuck among EU institutions.
Director of Transparency International (an anti-corruption NGO) and former member of the EP, Mr. Michiel van Hulten, said that the EP needs to be “radically reformed”, because for decades, this organization has maintained a culture of impunity, lax financial controls and no independent supervision.
In response to the scandal, EP President Roberta Metsola has pledged to tighten the organisation’s rules. She wants to be able to strip MPs 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. This includes 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 seriously damaged; the EU's judgment on the values of human dignity, freedom, democracy, fairness, 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 on an independent ethics body for all EU agencies.
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