The Belgian judiciary accuses the Greek of having been part of a criminal network.
(Photo: Reuters)
Brussels Eva Kaili has photographed a quote for her WhatsApp profile that is attributed to the Indian freedom fighter Mahatma Ghandi. “First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you and then you win.” A sentence that reveals a lot about how the Greek MEP sees herself – and what she plans to do.
The former Vice-President of the European Parliament is at the center of a corruption scandal that has occupied Brussels for months. The Belgian judiciary accuses Kaili of being part of a criminal network that is said to have given countries like Morocco and Qatar political influence in the EU.
It’s about suitcases of money, secret services and allegedly bought speeches: “Qatar Gate” is considered the biggest EU scandal in recent years.
Kaili was held in custody for four months, separated from her two-year-old daughter. The investigations are ongoing, but the Greek is already making plans for a comeback and wants to take part in meetings of the European Parliament again.
A trip to the meetingsweek in Strasbourg this week she canceled at short notice, but she is also active outside of the plenum. Parliament Speaker Roberta Metsola confirmed that Kaili wanted to take action against the lifting of her immunity.
Kaili presents herself as a victim
MP status is all she has left after her political fall. Kaili, 44, has lost all of her parliamentary posts. The social democratic group to which she belonged expelled her. But a choice is a choice: your seat in Parliament is guaranteed until next year’s European elections.
All Kaili has left is her office as a deputy.
(Photo: IMAGO/Panama Pictures)
Now the expelled woman is pushing back onto the political stage – and posing as the victim of a political conspiracy. “I was jailed for something I wasn’t involved in,” she told French newspaper Liberation.
And in the Italian newspaper “Corriere della Sera” she followed up: The Belgian secret service monitored MEPs who sat on a special committee dealing with the spy software Pegasus. Her lawyers found out. “The fact that elected Members of Parliament are being spied on by the secret services should make us more concerned about the state of our European democracy. I think that’s the real scandal.”
Her lawyers advised her against further media appearances, Kaili said when asked by the Handelsblatt. But she hopes to be able to speak again soon.
Kaili is accused of corruption and money laundering
Many open questions remain. 150,000 euros in cash were found in Kaili’s apartment, her father had been caught trying to remove a suitcase of money. The Belgian public prosecutor’s office accuses her of corruption and money laundering in a criminal organization.
The head of the ring is said to be former Italian MEP Pier Antonio Panzeri, who confessed in prison. Francesco Giorgi, Kaili’s partner and father of her little daughter, is said to have admitted his corruption. It is unclear whether Giorgi and Panzeri charged Kaili.
It is also unclear what consideration the alleged financiers from Qatar and other countries could have received from Kaili. It is true that she gave a speech in the European Parliament that ended up being a hymn of praise for the emirate’s supposed reform policy. And in a committee she wasn’t actually a member of, she voted to liberalize visa regulations for Qatar. But Kaili couldn’t move much. The European Parliament has hardly any powers in foreign policy.
The Qatar Gate investigations should be completed before the end of this year, according to the Belgian authorities. But even if the suspicion of corruption were not to be substantiated, Kaili’s legal problems would not be over.
The 44-year-old gave a speech praising Qatar in parliament.
(Photo: dpa)
The European Public Prosecutor’s Office, which is tasked with uncovering fraud with EU funds, has also targeted Kaili and also applied for her immunity to be lifted: She is said to have cheated the accounts in her office and embezzled money. Kaili’s lawyers say these investigations, like the Qatar Gate allegations, are “unjustified”.
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It is already becoming apparent that the corruption scandal in Brussels will change less politically than was expected in the initial excitement after Kaili’s arrest.
The EU Parliament has passed reforms and the EU Commission has proposed an independent ethics authority to develop a code of conduct for all EU institutions. But the new body should not be allowed to impose its own sanctions.
The anti-corruption fighters from Transparency International call for more willingness to reform. In a statement, they warn: “Strict reforms are long overdue. Only a speedy, public and transparent reform process will send a clear signal to voters in the European elections.”
More: Roberta Metsola on allegations: “I have to be a role model”