According to the Mega TV television channel, the scandal, for which the vice president of the legislative body, Eva Kaili, of the Social Democratic parliamentary caucus, along with six other people, could spill 60 European deputies as the investigation progresses.
Those involved are mostly from the social democratic and conservative group and are accused of accepting alleged bribes from Qatar to positively influence the views of the European Chamber on that Arab country.
However, the Federal Chancellor of Germany, Olaf Scholz, called to avoid linking the party to the corruption case, in which at least 1.2 million euros of the relations of the European Union (EU) have already been confiscated. with Qatar.
In the Belgian media, political scientists also address the reasons that could have given rise to the aforementioned event in community structures.
For example, they talk about the fact that the UP lacks a specific apparatus to follow the crimes, although it gives lessons on how to combat the scourge to countries, such as Hungary, which for this reason was prevented from receiving 13,000 million euros from an anti- Covid-19 support.
Likewise, its members may be both MEPs or private assistants, while European Commission officials, at the end of their mandate, may work for companies in the areas investigated by them.
There are also no rules for reporting parliamentary meetings with representatives of other nations.
Perhaps for this reason, in an attempt to whitewash its image, the European Chamber agreed to organizational measures, such as prohibiting donations from third countries to European deputies and political parties.
In addition, an investigation commission was created to deal with cases of corruption by third States and another special commission on transparency. For their part, the members of the legislative body must present a declaration of assets at the beginning and at the end of their mandate.
According to the newspaper Le Soir, the issue involves assistant Francesco Giorgi, Kaili’s sentimental partner, who was stripped of his parliamentary immunity.
The also head of the non-governmental organization No Peace Without Justice pleaded guilty, after more than a dozen police operations in both France and Greece, and spoke of how he has controlled bribe money for years.
The corruption scandal seems to pose a challenge to the EP, whose reputation as a model of democracy and transparency in the EU is this time in question, when there are still aspects to be clarified about this new chapter of bribery and interference.
Taken from Orb
By Antonio Rondón
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