It is one of the biggest corruption scandals to hit a European institution, specifically the 27-member parliament. Eva Kailī, a Greek socialist MEP and one of the 14 vice-presidents of the European Parliament, spent the night in prison in Belgium after being interrogated and arrested. Three other people underwent the same treatment. These are three Italians, including Kailī’s companion and a former MEP, Antonio Panzeri.
The most surprising aspect of the story is that according to the Belgian media, the country accused of having “bought” the intercession of the accused is Qatar, in the midst of the soccer world cup underway in the emirate. Doha immediately denied this, but it so happens that a debate was scheduled this week on the possibility of allowing Qataris to enter the European Union without visas. The debate was cancelled.
In the meantime, a statement has re-emerged with which Kaili had heartily defended Qatar last month just as a possible boycott of the World Cup was being discussed. “Qatar is at the forefront of civil rights,” Kailī had declared, joking at all those who were calling for a boycott but at the same time accepting Qatari gas. Words that today take on a new meaning.
Useless immunity
The small European world of Brussels is in shock and has launched an operation to contain the damage. Parliament Speaker Roberta Metsola immediately stripped Kailī of her vice-presidential mandate, while Pasok, the Greek socialist party with an already tarnished reputation, expelled Kailī.
We don’t know all the details yet, but 600,000 euros in cash were allegedly found and seized in the searches carried out in various apartments in Brussels. Kailī’s parliamentary immunity was useless because, according to the Belgian police, there was a “flagrancy of crime”.
If the facts are confirmed, the European institution will have to carry out a serious self-assessment, because it risks coming out of the affair weakened at a time when it is engaged in a financial tug-of-war with Viktor Orbán’s Hungary, which will now find it easier discredit Brussels.
No individual and no global institution can consider itself completely immune from corruption, which it will never be possible to completely eradicate. But barriers, control systems and warning mechanisms can be created to limit illicit maneuvers by states (Qatar is not the only one) and companies.
The European Union has greatly strengthened its action against misappropriation of funds for member states. A new step in this direction was taken in 2021 with the creation of the European Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (Eppo) under European funds, led by the fierce Romanian magistrate Laura Codruța Kövesi.
However, according to the NGO Transparency International, the European Union has allowed a culture of impunity to develop within it. It is worth noting that it was the Belgian police, and not the dedicated EU body, which carried out the investigation.
The anti-corruption NGO calls for the creation of an independent ethical structure within the EU. Today this request seems more sensible than ever. Europe must learn the lesson from this puzzling story.
(Translation by Andrea Sparacino)