In recent days, Qatar, a small and wealthy country in the Middle East, has attracted worldwide attention for hosting the World Cup. Just as the World Cup was coming to an end, Qatar was involved in the recent "anti-corruption storm" in the European Parliament because of its alleged bribery (widely referred to as "Qatar Gate" by foreign media).
A few days ago, the Belgian Evening News revealed a major corruption scandal about the European Parliament. Eva Kaili, one of the 14 vice-presidents of the European Parliament, was accused by the Belgian prosecutor of "allegedly accepting bribes from a Gulf country to influence parliamentary decisions", which shocked European politics. Although the prosecutor didn’t specify which country it was, many foreign media, including Reuters, reported that Qatar was the "Gulf country" suspected of bribing to influence the decision-making of the European Parliament.
Source: Reuters
The European Parliament is the legislative, supervisory and advisory body of the European Union. It has long advertised itself as "high transparency", but this scandal has undoubtedly shaken the confidence of the outside world in the EU institutions.According to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), many members of the European Parliament said that this case may be the biggest corruption scandal in the history of the parliament.One.
Carly, 44, was the host of a famous TV station in Greece. She was elected as a member of the Greek Parliament in 2007, a member of the European Parliament in 2014, and a vice-president of the European Parliament in January 2022. Her responsibilities included EU and Middle East relations.
Although Carly has always denied the allegations of "organized crime, money laundering and corruption",The European Parliament voted quickly and overwhelmingly (625 votes) to suspend all her functions in the European Parliament, and the Greek government also frozen all Carly’s property.At the same time, both the Union for Social Democracy and Progress (S&D), a political group of the European Parliament to which she belongs, and the Pan-Greek Socialist Movement Party (PASOK), a Greek political party, removed her name.
According to a number of foreign media reports, as of the 15th local time, the Belgian police have confiscated it from the residence of the person involved.More than 1.5 million eurosA large number of electronic equipment such as mobile phones and computers were seized, and the offices involved in the European Parliament building were also seized. A total of six people involved were taken away by the police for questioning, while four people, including Carly, were still being detained for investigation.
Source: Politician magazine
The Belgian Evening News reported the confession published by Belgian investigators for the first time in the report on the 15th. The report pointed out that Francesco Giorgi, Carly’s partner and parliamentary assistant, admitted in the investigation that she had received political contributions from Qatar, and also tried to excuse Carly’s criminal acts. The report also said that George admitted that his role in the "organization" was to manage cash and confessed the names of members who might accept bribes. The Belgian police said this made an "important contribution" to the investigation.
Qatar: "unfounded and seriously misleading"
Affected by this incident, Qatar’s reputation in European politics has also been greatly affected, which may endanger some cooperation between Qatar and the EU.
According to Reuters’s report on 15th, a Qatari official denied any misconduct in Qatar, saying that "the State of Qatar categorically rejects any attempt to link it with allegations of misconduct. Any attempt to link the Qatar government with suspected bribery is groundless and seriously misleading. "
Previously, Qatar has been criticized by many western media for immigration, labor and other issues. After the scandal was exposed, many media noticed that Carly actually visited Qatar a month ago and also met with Qatar’s Minister of Labor. At the beginning of the World Cup in November, when Carly delivered a speech at the European Parliament, she accused some members of the European Parliament of bullying and discriminating against Qatar, and praised Qatar for reforming the Kafala system and being a "leader in labor rights".
As the "anti-corruption storm" continues to ferment, officials of the European Parliament are very cautious about some cooperation with Qatar. On Thursday (16th), the European Parliament passed a resolution by a high vote, suspending all legislation related to Qatar, including visa liberalization, EU-Qatar aviation agreement and related visit plans, and this decision will be maintained until the end of the investigation. At the same time, Qatar representatives will be banned from entering the European Parliament building.
Qatar Airways Source: AFP
Among them, the aviation agreement between the EU and Qatar (the "open skies" agreement) has entered the final stage of the legislative process. If the European Parliament finally decides to revoke the relevant legislation after the investigation, it will be a big blow to Qatar. It is reported that the agreement was formally signed last year to allow Qatar Airways to enter the EU market and airspace without restrictions. It is the first such agreement between the EU and the Gulf countries. Once the agreement is passed, Qatar will gain an unparalleled advantage over other Gulf countries.
The European Parliament is under constant attack.
Metsola, President of the European Parliament, said at a press conference on 15th that she would lead a reform to prevent another corruption scandal in the European Parliament. She stressed, "This scandal is harmful to European democracy and everything we stand for … and it takes years to build trust."
The various groups of the European Parliament issued a joint statement, saying that they will promote internal reforms, improve the transparency of funding for organizations and individuals, and strengthen regulatory accountability. Carly’s former chairman of the Pan-Greek Socialist Democratic Party asked the Qatari authorities to cooperate with the investigation and called for sanctions against Qatar if it was confirmed that it was trying to undermine European democracy.
Despite this, the European Parliament, caught in the whirlpool of scandals, still cannot make up for people’s distrust. Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, said recently that this incident has shaken people’s confidence in European institutions and has begun to investigate officials who may be involved. Some members pointed out that although the case involved is only a party group in the parliament, "corruption activities are not divided into parties."
Even Hungarian politicians who have been attacked by the European Parliament for the rule of law have reacted strongly to this. Hungarian Prime Minister Orban tweeted earlier and shared a photo with the eye-catching title "The European Parliament is seriously concerned about corruption in Hungary". Hungarian Foreign Minister Jardot Peter posted on social media that "from now on, it will be difficult for the European Parliament to talk about corruption convincingly".
The European Parliament is also caught in a party struggle. At the European Parliament on Thursday, the center-right European People’s Party launched a fierce attack on its main rival, the Socialist Party Group (S&D), several (former) members of which have been the center of corruption cases in the past few days.
According to "Politician" magazine, Weber, chairman of the People’s Party Caucus of the European Parliament, said on the 15th that he "supported tougher action against the Socialist Party Caucus", which was a far cry from his speech in the European Parliament on Monday, when he urged members of the European Parliament not to use the crisis for "party political struggle".
Weber Source: Politician magazine
"Politician" magazine also analyzed that this scandal is almost a "scandal that everyone can foresee". The article points out that the European Parliament has many means of self-supervision, but it turns out that this is mainly a self-supervision system based on voluntary efforts, which is completely insufficient to deal with corruption. The article criticizes that if the European Parliament is attacked for this reason, it is totally "self-inflicted"-because members of the European Parliament have repeatedly refused to disclose their existing work to people, and they are disdainful of the fact that the existing rules cannot be implemented, but they have been using their identity to win privileges and financial benefits for themselves from beginning to end.
Author Chen Miaosong, direct news editor of Shenzhen Satellite TV.
