Who is Eva Kaili, the MEP who said that “aid” was “for the lazy” and is now imprisoned for corruption

The Greek MEP eva kailiat the center of a corruption scandal in the European Parliament, is a former television presenter and controversial figure in the Greek Socialist Party.

The 44-year-old legislator was removed from her functions as vice president of the chamber on Saturday following the investigation opened by the Belgian public prosecutor’s office.

LOOK: Vice-president of the European Parliament detained for corruption stripped of her functions

The MEP was jailed on Sunday in Brussels and accused of “membership of a criminal organization, money laundering and corruption.”

Authorities found “bags of bills” at his home during the search that took place on Friday night.

Originally from Thessaloniki, the second city of Greece, Kaili entered politics when she was 20 years old. In 1998 she became a municipal councilor for the city. For a time, she was seen as a rising star of the socialist Pasok-Kinal party.

After obtaining an architecture diploma, He studied international and European relations and took journalism courses.

This file photo taken and released on December 7, 2022 by the European Parliament shows Greek politician and Vice President of the European Parliament Eva Kaili during a meeting in Brussels. (ERIC VIDAL / EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT / AFP).

Between 2004 and 2007, Kaili presents the news for one of the main private channels in the country, Mega.

That same year, At just 29 years old, she is elected to the Greek Parliament. She becomes the youngest deputy in the Pasok party.

In 2014, she was elected as a Member of the European Parliament for the Socialists and Democrats (S&D) group, mandate that he retained in the 2019 European elections.

In January 2022, she became one of the vice presidents of the European legislature. Kaili was part of the delegation in charge of developing the relations of the European Union with the Arabian Peninsula.

trip to qatar

kaili traveled at the beginning of November to Qatarwhere he congratulated himself, along with the Qatari Labor Minister, on the emirate’s reforms in this sector.

“Today, the Soccer World Cup in Qatar It is concrete proof of how sports diplomacy can lead to a historic transformation of a country whose reforms have inspired the Arab world.” declared in the European Chamber on November 22.

In Greece, Kaili became increasingly distant from Pasok. When Greece and Macedonia agreed to end a longstanding dispute over the name of the small Balkan country, now called “North Macedonia”, he tweeted: “I am ashamed. It is irreparable damage to history, to Macedonia and to the Greeks.

The MEP It positioned itself at that time in the same line as that of the Greek conservative party, which was opposed to the agreement.

In 2019, He criticized the social aid implemented by the radical left party Syriza to deal with the economic crisis and declared that “the aid” was “for the lazy”.

The president of the Greek Socialist Party, Nikos Andrulakis, said on Saturday that “Kaili was acting as a Trojan horse for New Democracy,” the ruling right-wing party.

Given the suspicions that weigh on the MEP, the Socialist Party “expelled” her from the group and several MEPs have asked her to resign her seat in the European Parliament.

The investigation also points to his partner, the Italian Francesco Giorgi, a former parliamentary assistant.

Source: Elcomercio