The deposed Vice President of the European Parliament is considered a key figure in the affair.
(Photo: dpa)
Brussels The Emirate of Qatar’s attempt to polish its image in Europe has backfired. Anti-Qatar sentiment has been spreading in Brussels and Strasbourg ever since it became known over the weekend that the Gulf state allegedly bribed members of parliament and employees of the European Parliament.
On Thursday, the European Parliament wants to adopt a cross-party resolution. The draft states that Qatar’s alleged influence is strongly condemned. MEPs are calling for all access cards for Qatari lobbyists to the parliament building to be blocked immediately. All parliamentary work on Qatar is also to be stopped. Since the text was formulated jointly by the groups, a large majority is certain.
Parliament Speaker Roberta Metsola set the tone earlier this week when she declared in plenary that action would be taken against malicious actors abroad. The planned visa liberalization for Qatari citizens, which the parliament wanted to pass, has already been referred back to the committee for consideration.
Access for Qatar Airways is under review
The chair of the transport committee, the French Green Karima Delli, also questioned the EU aviation agreement with Qatar. As the news portal “Politico” reported, Delli wrote to her colleagues on the committee that the agreement had to be re-examined.
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The deal, which allows the state-owned company Qatar Airways direct flights to any European airport, was announced last year but has yet to be ratified. European airlines had defended themselves against the new competition and warned against unfair competition on the Far East routes.
>> Read here: Who are the accused and how to proceedt
The European Parliament also wants to set up a committee of inquiry on Thursday to investigate the scandal. However, unlike committees of inquiry in the Bundestag, such committees in the European Parliament do not have the power to summon witnesses and hear statements under oath.
Investigators secure 1.5 million euros in cash
Meanwhile, new details keep coming to light. Since the weekend, Belgian investigators have secured around one and a half million euros in cash from various people in the vicinity of the European Parliament. The federal police announced this and published photos of the bundles of cash seized.
Four suspects remain in custody. The most prominent is Greek MP Eva Kaili, who was ousted from her post as Vice-President of the European Parliament on Tuesday. The other three are not parliamentarians: Kaili’s friend Francesco Giorgi works as an assistant in the European Parliament. Former MEP Antonio Panzeri heads the non-governmental organization Fight Impunity. And Niccolo Figa-Talamanca works at the non-governmental organization No Peace without Justice.
Kaili was originally scheduled to appear in court for the first time on Wednesday, but a strike at her prison prevented her from doing so. The appointment was adjourned to next week.
>> Read here: This Italian and his NGO are under suspicion
In Parliament, it is expected that the corruption scandal will spread even further. In addition to Kaili, four other Social Democratic MPs are now on hold while investigations into their employees are ongoing. These are the Belgians Marc Tarabella and Maria Arena and the Italians Pietro Bartolo and Andrea Cozzolino. The offices of parliamentarians and staff were sealed to preserve evidence.
Prosecutor Michel Claise’s particular focus is the European Parliament’s Human Rights Committee. Panzeri was its chairman until 2019, his former employees are still employed in the group. Panzeri’s successor, Arena, resigned as chair of the committee as soon as the scandal became known.
SPD MP Jens Geier said it was apparently a network that Panzeri had set up. He expects more revelations. It is “not plausible” that a state only bribes MPs from one parliamentary group.
>> Read here: Traffic light coalition disagrees over stricter lobbying rules in Germany
Green MP Hannah Neumann also expects the scandal to spread. “I can’t imagine Qatar going to such lengths to bribe just one MP,” she says. However, one should not now “place general suspicion” on every member of parliament who represents pro-Qatar positions.
European Parliament wants to tighten lobbying rules
The European Parliament is now debating tightening lobbying rules. In the resolution on Thursday, the MPs demand that meetings with foreign government representatives should also be noted in the transparency register in future. Previously, this was only the case for representatives of companies and organizations.
Parliament also reiterates its call for the Commission to set up an independent ethics authority for all EU institutions. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had already promised this week. The transparency register is also to be increased in terms of staff and given more powers.
For some MEPs, the reforms do not go far enough. The Green politician Neumann says: “There are gray areas where you are now wondering if that should be the case or not. I find it politically difficult that Members of Parliament allow foreign embassies to pay for business trips.” But then it must also be possible to finance individual business trips through Parliament. Up until now, every MP has had an annual travel budget of 4,000 euros.
More: Transparency Europe boss: “This is probably about the tip of the iceberg.”