AP statement on Qatar-related bribery scandal
Metsola, at the opening of the EP General Assembly sessions held in Strasbourg, France, spoke out about the alleged corruption allegations related to Qatar, including the Greek MEP Eva Kaili, one of the EP vice-presidents.
“I’M ANGRY”
Stating that he respects the presumption of innocence but is “angry”, Metsola said:
“The European Parliament, European democracy, our open and free democratic societies are under attack. The enemies of democracy, whose existence is a threat to them, will never stop. These malicious actors associated with autocratic third countries allegedly used NGOs, trade unions, individuals, assistants (in parliament) and members of the European Parliament as weapons to control our processes. But these evil plans have failed.”
CALLS ANSWERED
Stating that they cooperated with Belgian authorities in the corruption investigation, Metsola said that he personally supervised some searches over the weekend as required by law.
AP LAUNCHES INTERNAL INVESTIGATION
Metsola also announced that they are launching their own investigations within the AP.
Emphasizing that they will work to prevent corruption from triumphing, Metsola said: “Nothing will go unpunished. This parliament will be on the side of the law. Nothing will be swept under the rug. “We will do our own internal investigation to find out all the facts,” she said.
Metsola also said that things will not be like before, that they will start a reform process to determine who has access to parliament, that they will investigate who finances non-governmental organizations and people who enter parliament, and what kind of relations they have with third countries.
TAKING THE VICE PRESIDENT FROM EVA KAİLİ
Metsola stated that Eva Kaili has suspended all duties and responsibilities derived from the vice presidency as a precautionary measure, and has initiated the legal process necessary to terminate her vice presidency.
FREE VISA TO QATAR SUSPENDED
In addition to Qatar, which was mentioned in allegations of corruption in the EP plenary sessions held this week, discussion of the report, which contemplates visa liberalization between Kuwait and the EU, has been suspended.
Metsola announced that it will send the report to the corresponding committee of the general assembly.
ALLEGED bribery
On December 9, the Belgian Federal Prosecutor’s Office announced that an unnamed Gulf country had opened an investigation on suspicion of giving large sums of cash and offering high-value gifts to people strategically located in the European Parliament in order to influence decisions. decisions of the European Parliament for several months. .
It was reported that during the searches carried out by the Belgian police in the houses of Eva Kaili and 5 people, cash, computer equipment and mobile phones worth 600,000 euros were seized.
In media reports, it was claimed that Eva Kaili and some MPs received bribes from Qatar to influence the economic and political decisions of the EP, and 4 people, including Kaili, were reportedly detained as part of the “corruption investigation “. .
Kaili and former Italian deputy of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D) in AP and Pier-Antonio Panzeri, a member of the Italian Articolo Uno Party, Luca Visentini, General Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation, and Francesco Giorgi, an assistant to the S&D group They were among those arrested.
Qatar, on the other hand, has denied allegations that it bribed strategically placed people to influence some of the European Parliament’s economic and political decisions. (AA)