European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that Qatar’s accusations of bribing officials EU in order to gain influence are of “extreme concern”.
She called for the creation of a new EU ethics body. MEPs who spoke to the correspondent air forcesay they are shocked by the scale and frankness of the accusations.
Eva Kaili, Vice President of the European Parliament, was arrested on Saturday and her assets were frozen. Belgian police arrested four people, they are accused of corruption and money laundering. Qatar denies wrongdoing.
Jessica Parker, a correspondent for the BBC in Brussels, says the details released by the Belgian authorities have made many people wince. Police seized around 600,000 euros worth of cash in 16 raids in Brussels on Friday. Computers and mobile phones were also confiscated. The suspects have not been named publicly.
Ms Kylie, an MEP for 8 years, has been removed from her duties as one of the 14 Vice-Presidents by the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola. She was also removed from membership in the parliamentary group of socialists and democrats, expelled from the Greek center-left Pasok party. And the Greek prosecutor’s office froze all of Ms. Kylie’s assets. Ms. Kylie’s responsibilities as Vice President include the Middle East. In the past, she was the protector of Qatar.
Opposition MEPs said the investigation could become one of the biggest corruption scandals in the history of the European Parliament. Ms von der Leyen noted that trust in European institutions requires high ethical standards:
“The accusations against the Vice-President of the European Parliament cause extreme concern, very serious. It’s a matter of people’s trust in our institutions, and that trust requires higher standards.”
Prosecutors said they suspect the Gulf state has been influencing parliament’s economic and political decisions for months, especially by influencing aides. Local media refers to Qatar, although the Qatari government maintains that any allegations of misconduct were “gross disinformation”.
The European Parliament is the only directly elected institution of the EU. Some 705 members of parliament, elected by voters in 27 EU countries, meet to scrutinize proposed legislation and vote in accordance with European law.
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