Observers are calling it the gravest corruption scandal to hit the European Union.
The Belgian federal police carried out 16 raids and charged four people in connection with an ongoing investigation
into alleged bribes to members of the European Parliament (MEPs) from the Qatar government.
The raids resulted in the seizure of cash worth $1.6 million and digital devices were also confiscated.
https://twitter.com/policefederale/status/1602950668620283905
The suspects have been publicly named, but Greek
MEP of eight years and European Parliament Vice President Eva Kaili who was among those
previously arrested are understood to be among those who have been
charged.
The Daily Mail reported that Kaili's father was apprehended by authorities with a briefcase with £650,000 in cash. This resulted in a waiver of Eva Kaili's diplomatic immunity. Her home was searched where 'valuables' and 'bags of banknotes' were purportedly discovered.
Kaili was suspended from her duties as one of 14 vice presidents and. the parliament's Socialists and Democrats Group. Greek Prosecutors froze all of Kaili's assets.
She was also expelled from the Greek Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats. Yes, she is a socialist.
Kaili also didn't appear at a scheduled hearing on Wednesday and was remanded in custody until she appears before a court on December 22.
Kaili's responsibilities as a vice president heading DARP (Delegation for Relations with
the Arab Peninsula) She frequently traveled to Qatar holding meetings with top officials.
She is a staunch defender and advocates for Qatar
When Qatar faced criticism following the deaths of over 6,500 workers during the run-up to the FIFA World Cup 2022, Kaili defended them in a speech to the European Parliament.
Kaili said that "the World Cup in Qatar is proof, actually, of how sports diplomacy can achieve a historical transformation of a country, with reforms that inspired the Arab world.”
Kaili called the country a "frontrunner in labor rights", for abolishing kafala, a legal framework used in several Gulf states that is compared to slavery.
The socialist had no compassion for the exploited worker who perished.
Kaili even accused her fellow MEPs of bullying
and discriminating against Qatar.
Kayli denied wrongdoing in the scandal and so has Qatar.
Francesco Giorgi, Kaili’s partner, confessed to accepting a bribe before a Brussels magistrate but said that Kaili wasn't involved. Giorgi also claimed the cash he received had nothing to do with Kaili.
This was backed up by Kaili's lawyer who said in
a broadcast: 'The money that was found in her house did not belong to her,
Giorgi is the only one who can provide answers about its existence.'
It all seems too convenient.
That still doesn’t explain what Eva’s father was
doing with a suitcase full of cash.
Perhaps Giorgi has been asked to be the fall guy
to save the bigger names?
The European Parliament voted to suspend work on all files involving Qatar, and called for security passes for representatives of the Gulf country’s interests to be withdrawn.
The allegations have cast a shadow over the role
of lobby groups at the European Parliament.
If Qatar could buy the right to host the World
Cup by allegedly bribing MEP what else can they achieve?
Qatar is a key energy supplier to Europe, perhaps that too has been enabled by buying favors?
Perhaps other nations are doing this too.
It isn’t beyond the realm of probability that there
are many others still concealed under the carpet because those accepting the
bribes did it in such a manner that it was legally permissible
https://twitter.com/PM_ViktorOrban/status/1602255764059561987
The European Parliament is notoriously opaque with
funds. There is no obligation of transparency from MEPs which makes the system open to abuse.
For instance, the MEPs are allowed a monthly “general
official expenditure allowance” of $4,897. However, MEPs don’t
have to submit receipts when claiming these expenses.
The opacity with funding is only part of the
problem.
There is also the issue of lobbyists.
Around 12,000 lobbying groups acting on behalf of countries,
corporate houses, trade unions, religious organizations, or academic
institutions are registered by EU
Commission.
However third countries, countries outside of
the EU defending their interests before the EU parliament, are often
exempted from these rules.
The rule states that MEPs are not allowed to
enter into dealings with states that don’t appear on the register. However,
when a state representative and MEP during diplomatic
visits no declaration is necessary, because they are not lobbyists as such per
the EU’s definition.
For instance, a third country’s representatives
must register if they have come to Brussels to talk to an MEP to advocate for
their country’s interests in relation to that dossier.
However, if the same MEP meets with a public
figure while on an official visit to a third country, neither of them is
required to sign any transparency register.
It could be much worse than just awarding rights for a football competition. They could actually pass laws that hurt the interests of regular people.
For instance, an online e-commerce giant could lobby MEPs to promote their firm. The MEPs can pass stringent environmental laws that make it impossible for smaller businesses to survive and lead to a monopoly of the e-commerce giant.
There could be scenarios where MEPs from a large group of countries build a coalition and pass laws that affect countries despite their MEPs not voting for these laws.
The EU parliament also encourages international coalitions, Socialist Democrats from various countries are part of a coalition. The result is national interests take the backseat.
This is anti-democratic yet this is the system
followed in the EU, but this is how unpopular policies are passed.
Back to the scandal.
It is probably the result of decades of systemic corruption that emboldened certain officials to opt for cash as a means of a bribe. Perhaps they were confident of not being caught. Perhaps they were certain they could hide behind their diplomatic immunity. Perhaps the MEPs were caught because certain officials did not receive their share.
But the European parliament is an excuse for the
‘elite’ to expand their power and almost operate like super governments. The
opacity means that the public is unaware of the activities occurring behind closed doors.
This is exactly what these individuals want to achieve globally.
They want to regulate the lives of a rancher in Wyoming, a restauranter in Goa, an accountant in London, and a shopkeeper in Durban and take away all their rights to fight back.
It was this over-regulation and domination that led to Brexit.
This cabal despised President Trump for challenging these unelected global coalitions and was glad to see him go. When French President Macron said Biden is ‘part of the club’ at the G7 last year, it was this arrangement he was referring to.
PS: But irrespective of how big the scandal becomes we must resist the temptation of calling it Qatargate, the tradition of adding 'gate' to any scandal must end.
Also appears on American Thinker
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