What is the European Parliament's Qatar corruption scandal and who is Eva Kaili? - The Washington Post

Belgian media identified the authorities arsenic Qatar and reported that those charged included a European Parliament vice president, Eva Kaili, and her partner, parliamentary adjunct Francesco Giorgi, arsenic good arsenic a erstwhile subordinate of the European Parliament, Pier Antonio Panzeri. Others reportedly caught up successful the probe see the caput of a Brussels-based national and an unnamed Italian national.

European authorities person yet to corroborate the implicated country. Qatar has denied wrongdoing.

Within E.U institutions, it’s being talked astir arsenic the biggest ungraded successful caller memory. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said the effect volition trial “the credibility of Europe.”

Here’s what you request to know.

Before being charged successful this lawsuit and stripped of her authoritative positions, Eva Kaili, 44, was a Greek subordinate of the European Parliament and 1 of its vice presidents.

The vice presidents tin basal successful for the institution’s president erstwhile needed, including chairing the monthly plenary sittings wherever large decisions are voted on. They besides person a accidental successful administrative, unit and organizational questions.

But their powerfulness is limited. The European Parliament has 14 vice presidents and 705 members. It is besides the weakest of the 3 cardinal institutions of the European Union.

Belgian constabulary arrested Kaili — known successful Greece arsenic a erstwhile quality anchor — and charged her with taking portion successful a transgression organization, wealth laundering and corruption, according to Agence France-Presse.

The fallout was immediate: Her governmental radical successful the European Parliament, the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D), suspended her, arsenic did her governmental enactment successful Greece, the Pasok-Movement for Change. European Parliament President Roberta Metsola suspended Kaili from her “powers, duties and tasks” arsenic vice president connected Saturday.

According to Belgian paper L’Echo, instrumentality enforcement officers who raided Kaili’s location connected Friday recovered bags of cash. They besides questioned Kaili’s father, who was recovered with a suitcase afloat of currency portion leaving a Sofitel edifice successful Brussels. Inspectors fishy helium was tipped disconnected astir the unfolding constabulary operation, L’Echo reported, citing constabulary sources.

Belgian prosecutors fishy “that 3rd parties successful governmental and/or strategical positions wrong the European parliament were paid ample sums of wealth oregon offered important gifts to power parliament’s decision.” Belgian quality outlets person wide reported that the “Gulf country” suspected of being down the strategy is Qatar, though E.U. authorities person not named it.

Kaili precocious traveled to Qatar, gathering with Labor Minister Ali bin Samikh Al Marri, adjacent though a erstwhile travel organized for a European Parliament delegation was postponed by Qatari officials with small beforehand notice, Politico reported.

Back successful Brussels, according to Politico, she attended a ballot of the European Parliament’s justness and location affairs committee — of which she is not a subordinate — to enactment a connection to allow Qataris and Kuwaitis visa-free travel wrong the E.U.’s Schengen area.

She besides described the country arsenic a “front-runner successful labour rights” successful a Nov. 21 statement connected alleged quality rights abuses during the operation of the World Cup infrastructure. At the decision of that debate, the European Parliament condemned the deaths of thousands of migrant workers during the operation of 8 stadiums, an airdrome expansion, a caller metro, galore hotels and miles of caller roads. The European assemblage criticized some Qatar and soccer’s governing body, FIFA.

The Qatari authorities has denied immoderate engagement successful the alleged corruption scheme, which has made quality arsenic the World Cup is successful its last rounds and the state is seeking to contiguous itself arsenic a forward-looking and cardinal geopolitical actor.

“The State of Qatar categorically rejects immoderate attempts to subordinate it with accusations of misconduct,” the Qatari Mission to the European Union said successful a tweet connected Sunday. “Any relation of the Qatari authorities with the reported claims is baseless and gravely misinformed.”

The charges rise caller questions astir corruption and influence-peddling successful European Union institutions, putting existent and erstwhile officials nether scrutiny and apt starring to calls for an overhaul successful organization oversight.

In Brussels, the revelations were greeted with shock, but not surprise, with E.U. watchers and experts noting long-standing concerns astir the bloc’s institutions, peculiarly the European Parliament.

“Whatever its last outcome, the Qatar ‘corruption’ ungraded has unveiled an inconvenient, and for astir Europeans already obvious, truth. Money does bargain power successful the EU,” wrote Alberto Alemanno, the Jean Monnet Professor of European Union Law astatine HEC Paris, successful an sentiment portion for Politico Europe.

“While this whitethorn beryllium the astir egregious lawsuit of alleged corruption the European Parliament has seen successful galore years, it is not an isolated incident,” said Michiel van Hulten, Director of Transparency International EU, successful a statement.

The European Parliament “has allowed a civilization of impunity to develop,” acknowledgment to lax fiscal rules and the lack of autarkic morals oversight, van Hulten said, adding that members of the European Parliament person blocked attempts to alteration that. He called for the European Commission to people its “long-delayed connection connected the instauration of an autarkic EU morals body, with powers of probe and enforcement.”

Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, has called for the instauration of specified a body, but the authoritative charged with making that hap has conceded that it volition apt deficiency the quality to analyse oregon enforce.

On Monday, von der Leyen called the allegations against Kaili “very serious.” Josep Borrell, caput of the bloc’s overseas and information arm, said they were “very worrisome.”

For now, the ungraded is simply a acquisition to the E.U.'s critics, peculiarly leaders specified arsenic Hungary’s Victor Orban, who regularly lambaste the bloc for criticizing antiauthoritarian shortcomings wrong E.U. countries.

On Monday morning, Orban’s Twitter relationship posted a meme that showed a radical of men laughing hysterically with the words “And past they said the [European Parliament] is earnestly acrophobic astir corruption successful Hungary” superimposed.

Kaili’s partner, Francesco Giorgi, was besides arrested and charged, his telephone seized by Belgian instrumentality enforcement, according to Belgian paper Le Soir.

The European Parliament lists Giorgi arsenic an accredited assistant to Italian MEP Andrea Cozzolino, who is portion of the aforesaid parliamentary radical arsenic Kaili, and who chairs the delegation for relations with the Maghreb (Northwest African) countries. Giorgi describes himself connected LinkedIn arsenic a “policy advisor successful the tract of Human Rights, EU overseas affairs with an extended web of contacts with parliamentarians, politicians, EU Institutions, NGO’s, diplomats.”

Giorgi lists himself arsenic a laminitis of the Brussels-based global human-rights nonprofit Fight Impunity, whose president, Pier Antonio Panzeri, is besides implicated successful the corruption investigation.

Panzeri, 67, was a subordinate of the European Parliament from 2004 to 2009. Among different positions, helium chaired the delegation for relations with the Maghreb countries (DMAG) arsenic portion of the S&D group. He founded Fight Impunity successful 2019 and present serves arsenic its president.

According to Le Soir, Belgian investigators fishy Panzeri of starring a transgression enactment to power decision-making wrong the European Parliament with currency and gifts connected behalf of the Qatari government.

On Friday, Italian constabulary detained Panzeri’s woman and daughter, who were the subjects of a European apprehension warrant, according to Politico and the Italian paper Corriere della Sera.