How deep does mold go? This is the central question posed by Politico reporters in Brussels in a lengthy article about her case Kaylee And the Qatar Jet.
As the portal points out, to date, police investigations have been initiated by Belgian prosecutor Michel Cleese They led four people to jail, Including Greek Former Vice President From Parliamentwith accusations Corruption, money laundering and participation in a criminal organization.
It should be noted here that Michel Claes is an expert in financial transactions, particularly in the investigation of financial crimes. For more than 20 years, the 66-year-old has been a lawyer and is now a detective in Brussels, specializing in the fight against “white collar” crimes. In July it launched its investigation into Qatargate, which involves bribes Qatar allegedly made to European officials to influence the EU’s stance towards the country that violated workers’ and human rights.
In his free time he writes books and in one of them, V.I ShowmanHe uncovers a case similar to the one he’s dealing with now. In his professional life, he has handled cases of tax fraud and money laundering through Switzerland for the industry from HSBC Private Banking, While in 2018 he discovered the issue “Footgate” or “Footgate” for match-fixing in Belgium.
So that the first statements he made about how Saudi And Qatar They are trying to put pressure on the European Union with funding, they happened in 2016. Six years later, as Politico notes, Qatar Gate comes to remind us of the institutions’ nakedness in the face of such situations.
“hole” checks
So according with PoliticoAfter the initial shock of the arrests, parliamentary officials said they believed charges would be limited to “a few people” who had “lost their way”. However, things seem not quite like that.
As of this writing, 19 homes and offices are being searched in all, Other officials are now appreciating the Qatari bribery scandal is “display” For the most profound and widespread problem of corruption, not only in the European Parliament, but in all EU institutions.
as noted, loose supervision of the financial activities of MEPs, As well as the fact that countries like Qatar were able to communicate with them Without recording these contacts in a public registry, It is a perfect recipe for corruption. But it is also another example of the ambiguity at the heart of the European Union.
The French MP for the Social Democratic Party said, “The courts will determine who is guilty, but what is certain is that it is not Qatar alone, and not only those who have been named so far are implicated.” Raphael Glucksman Who chairs the Committee against Well-Known Interference in the European Parliament.
Ο Michelle Van Holten, A former MP who now heads the EU’s Transparency International office said that while cases of blatant corruption involving bags of cash are rare, “it’s very likely that there will be names in this scandal that we haven’t heard of yet. There is a lot of influence on a scale that we haven’t seen before.” This impact does not have to include bags of cash. It can include trips to distant destinations paid for by foreign organisations.”
Adding that Parliament has no safeguards for dealing with internal complaints, Although he voted for these measures in favor of EU citizens.
previous corruption
In 1998, he was a whistleblower Poor management in the Santer Committee That caused a mass resignation of the EU executive. This is the only time in the history of the European Union that the entire European Commission, under the presidency of Jacques Santer of Luxembourg, has been forced to resign, as the European Parliament was certain that a vote of confidence in the European Union’s executive would not be given, due to a series of scandals, nepotism and mismanagement of funds. european. The Jacques Santer Commission remains the only one in the history of the European Union to have resigned Before the European Parliament raises a vote of confidence. At the time, 10 EU commissioners were implicated in the scandal. but since then, Little has changed In spite of any obligations.
Glucksman also called for “profound reforms”. In a system that allows officials to hold more than one position Oversight of personal finances is left to the Self-Regulatory Commission, which is staffed by legislators, and provided to government agencies Access those without having to log minutes. Glucksmann mentioned Russia, Georgia and Azerbaijan As states tried to influence political decisions in parliament.
To start troubleshooting, Glucksman called for a special commission of inquiry to be set up in parliament, Other left-wing and Green lawmakers called for reforms, including the appointment of an anti-corruption vice president to replace Kylie.
When asked about the extent of the bribery scandal, a senior parliamentary official, who asked not to be named, said: Trying to show that the problem is not systemic: As serious as this is, it is about individuals and a few people who have made very bad decisions. The investigation and the arrests show that our systems and procedures worked.
Valerie Heyer, a French MP from the centrist Renew group, echoed similar sentiments, saying the corruption issue was “not widespread”.
Silence remarks on the ropes
On the other hand said the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, Refused to answer questions about Vice President Relations Margaritis Schinas with Qatar. The Greek commissioner represented the European Union at the opening ceremony of the World Cup last month and was criticized by members of the European Parliament For his tweets in recent months, where he also praised Qatar’s “labor reforms”.
However, von der Leyen seemed supportive establishment of an “independent ethics body”, Which can investigate irregularities in all EU institutions.
Anyway, it seems Control will extend beyond the European Parliament, to the European Commission and the European Council, It shows that in addition to the ‘ongoing’ investigations, the mechanisms need to be overhauled across all three pillars of the EU. More corruption cases are expected to be revealed To further damage the credibility of institutions in Brussels and Strasbourg.
Finally, law professor Alberto Alemanno and founder of The Good Lobby, States for his part in Politico None of the above will change if meetings – discussions with lobbyists from third countries are not published in the EU Transparency Register; Something that should concern the governments of member states but also all EU institutions, including members of the European Parliament. And he is the same By establishing a common and independent principle of morality, “Sufficient resources, investigation possibilities and penalties.”
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