EU Parliament ‘under attack’ as Qatar corruption scandal grows - POLITICO Europe

Police launched a caller question of raids connected governmental figures successful Brussels implicit alleged corruption involving Qatari interests Monday, successful a ungraded that threatens to trash European Union democracy.

“The European Parliament,” said its president, Roberta Metsola, astatine a league successful Strasbourg connected Monday, “is nether attack.”

The focal constituent for that attack, for now, is the Parliament’s Socialists and Democrats (S&D) group. In Brussels, constabulary raided the parliamentary bureau of Greek MEP Eva Kaili, who is presently successful a jailhouse compartment arsenic she awaits a tribunal appearance, slated for Wednesday.

Meanwhile, her colleagues successful Strasbourg expelled her from the S&D radical arsenic her MEP colleagues prepared to portion her of her vice president title.

Several different S&D members — not straight implicated but nether scrutiny for their connections to those charged and their advocacy connected behalf of Qatar — besides agreed to measurement distant from cardinal assignments, including MEP Marie Arena arsenic seat of the Parliament’s quality rights subcommittee.

In all, Belgian constabulary tallied six arrests (though 2 individuals, Kaili’s begetter and the commercialized national brag Luca Visentini, person been released) and searched 19 backstage homes. The cops’ currency haul includes €600,000 successful a backstage home, “several 100 1000 euros” successful a suitcase nabbed astatine a Brussels hotel, and €150,000 astatine Kaili’s apartment. Her family’s assets successful Greece have been frozen.

After blocking entree to IT instrumentality implicit the weekend, constabulary said they retrieved the information connected Monday. In summation to Kaili’s office, 2 assistants’ offices were besides marked “Access Forbidden” connected Monday afternoon. One labeled F. Giorgi — Kaili’s partner, besides nether apprehension — and the different labeled E. Foulon and G. Meroni. The second is simply a erstwhile adjunct to Pier Antonio Panzeri, the ex-MEP astatine the halfway of the alleged scandal.

“European Democracy is nether attack,” Metsola told the plenary arsenic she vowed to unfastened an interior probe.

The telephone for an investigation was echoed by MEPs successful Strasbourg, and crossed the bloc. “Europe’s credibility is astatine stake,” said German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock.

For watchdogs, however, the menace to Europe’s credibility has ever been clear. The ungraded is not an onslaught but “self inflicted damage,” tweeted The Good Lobby laminitis Alberto Alemanno successful effect to Metsola’s speech. “The EU Parliament and astir of its members person historically resisted stricter integrity rules and effectual enforcement system.”

The EU’s transparency registry is afloat of loopholes and voluntary elements: The Parliament’s subcommittee connected quality rights, for example, hosted Panzeri’s NGO, Fight Impunity, to present reports, adjacent though it was not listed successful the transparency register.

Based connected its activities, Fight Impunity should person been entered successful the database, said the register’s secretariat successful an email. But since they’re not legally obligated to register, there’s nary mode to punish them for breaching the register’s codification of conduct.

Similarly, a connection for an autarkic EU morals sheet has been stalled successful the Commission. Vice President for Transparency Věra Jourová has cited ineligible hurdles and deficiency of involvement successful an morals assemblage that would use to each the institutions and really person enforcement power.

On Monday, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen expressed caller determination to make an overarching watchdog body. “It is precise captious to person not lone beardown rules but the aforesaid rules covering each the EU institutions and not to let for immoderate exemptions,” she told reporters.

But for each the speech of protecting spot and promoting transparency successful EU institutions, apical officials resisted aboriginal opportunities to enactment it into practice. Commission spokesperson Dana Spinant quickly unopen down questions erstwhile journalists tried to property von der Leyen astir tweets by Margaritis Schinas, a Commission vice president, successful which helium had praised Qatar’s labour reforms up of the World Cup.

It was a akin (virtual) country successful Strasbourg, wherever a Parliament spokesperson declined to instrumentality questions from reporters successful an online property conference.

“Our mode of open, free, antiauthoritarian societies are nether attack,” Metsola declared successful Strasbourg. “The enemies of ideology for whom the precise beingness of this Parliament is simply a threat, volition halt astatine nothing. These malign actors, linked to autocratic 3rd countries person allegedly weaponized NGOs, unions, individuals, assistants and Members of the European Parliament successful an effort to subdue our processes.”

In Budapest, Viktor Orbán, who leads a state the European Parliament declared “no longer a democracy,” seized his moment. The Hungarian premier curate tweeted a greeting greeting to the parliament, with a photograph of erstwhile satellite leaders successful stitches. The caption: “And past they said … The EP is earnestly acrophobic astir corruption successful Hungary.”

Pieter Haeck, Sarah-Taïssir Bencharif, Clothilde Goujard, Nektaria Stamouli, Gabriel Rinaldi, Wilhelmine Preussen and Suzanne Lynch contributed reporting.