News about the corruption scandal at the General Assembly of the European Parliament. Last Minute Belgium, France headlines and events

Paris –

The corruption operation launched in the European Parliament after accusations that some MPs influenced the economic and political decisions of the European Parliament in favor of Doha in exchange for money and gifts they received from Qatar has gained momentum. searched.

The reaction to the scandal that erupted just a few days before the World Cup matches in Qatar, and the resolution containing the “liberalization of the visa regime in Qatar and Kuwait”, was discussed at the General Assembly of the European Parliament, which was heard today in the General Assembly hall.

As “initial shock gave way to anger” at meetings in the General Assembly, Speaker of Parliament Roberta Metsola announced that she had launched an internal investigation and called the Council of Presidents into session to lift the immunity of Greek parliamentarian Eva Kaili, vice president. President of the European Parliament, saying: “What is done will not go unpunished.”

Metsola, who personally opened the session, said with a stern expression and an angry tone, “The last days have been the longest days of my career. If my anger and sadness are not reflected in my words, you should know this, because the investigation and the presumption of innocence are ongoing. Our parliament has come under serious attack. “I removed all the powers arising from this. In such cases, parliamentary immunity cannot be used. To do this, I convened the Council of Presidents for a meeting. I launched an internal investigation to make sure that all its aspects are disclosed and the institution is reformed,” he said. .

Promising that “no truth will be swept under the carpet,” Metsola said, “The business as usual rule will not be followed. Who is in our parliament, who are we meeting with, who are representatives of foreign countries, we will put all this in order. For this I need your help. Under this roof, bags full of “Money cannot be allowed in. Our staff, of which I am very proud, cooperates with appropriate judicial authorities and law enforcement officers to eliminate this so-called criminal network. We will all come out of this scandal stronger,” he said.

In his speech, where he stated that he was “incredibly disappointed”, Metsola concluded his words by saying: “Those who think that Europe is for sale, who buy us, and those who try to influence our civil society with money, know that we will always be on your way.”

“Black Day for AP”

German parliamentarian Manfred Weber, chairman of the right-wing PPE group, the largest group in parliament, said: “We are in deep shock. This is an incredibly debilitating situation for our institute. As a PPE group, we are perplexed. We are ready to improve our rules and fight for the future. Corruption is the biggest enemy of democracy. In this parliament or “No room for corruption in other EU institutions,” he said.

Spanish parliamentarian Iratse García Pérez, head of the social democratic group of which Eva Cailli is a member, said: “Today is a black day, a sad day for European democracy. This is a particularly difficult day for the socialist group. We as a group “We will fight to the end against the crime that destroys our unity,” he said.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has ridiculed accusations of corruption in the European Parliament on Twitter. Orbán shared a photo of ex-leaders laughing, which reads: “And they say the European Parliament is seriously concerned about corruption in Hungary.”

The European Parliament in its successive decisions asked to suspend the payment of 13.3 billion euros, which was supposed to be allocated to Hungary because of accusations of the independence of the judiciary and corruption.

Orban reaction

French Liberal Renew Group Deputy Minister Stephane Sejourne, speaking at the General Assembly, recalled Orbán’s message that these corruptions should be cleared up as soon as possible and that the issue should not be “exploited by malefactors.” . Sejourne said they expect Eva Kylie to step down as MEP.

Terry Reintkede, Chairman of the Greens Group, said: “It has always been an honor for me to be a member of this Parliament. However, the latest incident has damaged this honor. This incident is so big that it will undermine the trust placed in all of us. As European Democrats, we want to investigate within ourselves. There were serious flaws in our system. We want a Working Commission to be created and a number of laws on lobbies and ethical rules to be adopted,” he said.

“You can’t buy AP like a football club”

French MP Manon Aubrey, chairman of the radical left, also denounced in her speech in an angry tone “the most serious corruption scandal” in the history of the European Parliament and said: “From here I send a message to Qatar: you cannot buy European legislators, just like you can buy a football club.”

Recalling that the case against former President Sarkozy in France over his relationship with Qatar is ongoing, Aubrey said: “This is just the tip of the iceberg. We call on Eva Kylie to step down. She must resign immediately. democracy is not for sale.”

After negotiations, the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, proposed not to negotiate visa liberalization with Qatar and Kuwait and to return the draft resolution to the Commission. The decision was unanimously returned to the commission.

Investigation grows, AP building searched

As part of a corrupt operation carried out by the Belgian police since Friday, Vice President of the European Parliament, Greek MP Eva Kaili and 3 people were arrested and detained on charges that they “changed the economic and political decisions of the European Parliament in favor of Qatar in exchange for bribes and gifts received from Qatar”.

The scandal grew when Belgian police, behind a rare corruption operation in the history of the EU, raided the home of Belgian MEP Marc Tarabella on Saturday evening, alleging “illegal lobbying activities.”

Belgian police raided the parliament building while negotiations were underway at the European Parliament’s general assembly. Belgium’s federal prosecutor’s office said the European Parliament building was also searched on Monday in connection with a corruption scandal that has been rocking the European Parliament since last Friday. The Belgian federal prosecutor’s office said the search was carried out to prevent “the loss of data necessary for the investigation.” Belgian police raided 20 addresses in an operation that lasted 4 days.

Von der Leyen offers “an independent ethical authority”.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Monday that suspicions of corruption within the institution are “very serious”. “These allegations are extremely disturbing. At the heart of our institutions is the issue of trust in people. This trust requires high standards of independence and integrity,” von der Leyen said, recalling that he had previously recommended the creation of an “independent body” for ethical issues in the EU institutions. He said that action in this direction should be taken immediately.

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