European Parliament Launches 'Internal' Probe Amid Corruption Charges, President Says
16:23 GMT 12.12.2022 (Updated: 17:42 GMT 12.12.2022)
© AP Photo / Virginia Mayo
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Four officials including European Parliament Vice-President Eva Kaili were detained and questioned late last week in an inquiry into suspected palm-greasing in the body said to be linked to the decision to hold the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. The scandal has prompted some observers to demand wholesale reform of the legislative body.
European Parliament President Roberta Metsola announced Monday that she would be spearheading an internal probe into the facts surrounding suspected corruption, money laundering, bribery, and fraud in her legislature.
"There will be no sweeping under the carpet," Metsola said at the opening of the parliament's plenary session in Strasbourg. "There will be no business as usual," she assured. An "internal investigation" will be held to "examine all the facts related to the European Parliament," and to ensure the institution reforms itself, according to the politician.
The Malta-born politician assured that the body has been "in sync" with authorities amid the Belgian authorities' investigation into suspected corruption, and accused "malign actors" from unnamed "autocratic third countries" of causing a situation where the parliament and "European democracy" are "under attack."
11 December 2022, 05:07 GMT
Prosecutors charged four European Union officials with corruption, participation in a criminal group, and money laundering over the weekend, with European Parliament Vice-President Eva Kaili suspended from her duties, and Metsola taking steps Monday to fire her. The charges are related to alleged attempts by a Gulf State to bribe multiple lawmakers and other officials. Belgian media have subsequently reported that the suspected bribery is related to the holding of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she was shocked and appalled by the "very serious" allegations. "This confidence and trust in our institutions need highest standards of independence and integrity," she said, calling for the creation of an "ethics body" with "very clear rules" about foreign lobbying.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban - who is battling Brussels on multiple fronts ranging from Ukraine aid to a new global flat tax and a "rule of law" spat, had some fun at Eurocrats' expense earlier in the day Monday, tweeting a popular meme in response to the European Parliament corruption spat.
Good morning to the European Parliament! @Europarl_EN pic.twitter.com/VYXGeSOwul
— Orbán Viktor (@PM_ViktorOrban) December 12, 2022
Other Eurosceptics also flocked to social media to discuss the scandal, alleging that the suspected criminal activity was par for the course in the European Union's institutions.
"What we do know is, it's a huge, massive scandal. What we do know is, because I was there for nearly 21 years, Brussels runs on a sea of total corruption," former MEP Nigel Farage said. "However bad things in Westminster are, however disgusted you are with Matt Hancock or PPE contracts...Yes we've got our problems, but it's nothing like as bad as Brussels, where the whole thing is endemic, thank God we're out," the former Brexit Party leader quipped.
12 December 2022, 04:57 GMT
Michiel van Hulten, director of Transparency International's EU branch, called for "root and branch reform" in the EU Parliament, alleging that "over many decades," the institution had "allowed a culture of impunity to develop, with a combination of lax financial rules and controls and a complete lack of independent (or indeed any) ethics oversight."
