European Parliament removes Greek lawmaker Eva Kaili from the position of vice-president

The European Parliament removed this Tuesday from the position of vice president a Greek legislator arrested for apparent receipt of bribes, in a strong reaction to restore credibility, seriously affected by the scandal.

The plenary approved by 625 votes in favor and just one against and two abstentions the dismissal of the Greek social democrat eva kaili from the position of vice president, in a forceful response from the plenary to the case.

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The removal of kaili it had been recommended to the plenary by the Conference of Presidents, the group formed by the head of Parliament and the leaders of the different political blocs.

The press service of the European Parliament announced that the vote that decided the dismissal of kaili relied on the internal regulations and it happened “in the context of investigations in Belgium involving members and staff” of that legislative institution.

An investigation opened by the Belgian prosecutor’s office led to the arrest and indictment of kaili and three other people on suspicion of receiving large sums of money from a “Persian Gulf State”which would be Qatar, to defend the interests in Parliament.

The 44-year-old MEP was arrested after Belgian investigators found bags full of cash at her residence, although her lawyer says kaili did not accept any “Qatar bribery”.

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“His position is that he is innocent. He has nothing to do with bribery from Qatar ”, said the lawyer Michalis Dimitrakopoulos to a Greek television network, Open TV.

The Belgian federal prosecutor’s office announced on Monday that in raids carried out in three different places it seized several hundred thousand euros in cash.

Police also raided an office of the European Parliament in Brussels to seize computer data from a dozen officials.

The president of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola (C), participates in a conference of presidents, as part of a plenary session at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, eastern France, on December 13, 2022. (Photo by FREDERICK FLORIN / AFP ) (FREDERICK FLORIN /)

Reform and transparency

The scandal represents a brutal blow to the credibility of the European Parliamentwhich usually takes the initiative in denouncing cases of corruption.

For this reason, the speaker of parliament, the Maltese conservative Roberta Metsola, expressed her “fury, anger and sadness” for the case, and warned that what happened represents a “attack” to all the legislature and to European democracy.

“We will launch a reform process to see who has access to our facilities, how these organizations, NGOs and individuals are financed, what links they have with third countries”, promised Metsola on Monday.

“We will ask for more transparency in meetings with foreign actors,” added.

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This Tuesday, Metsola and the heads of the different blocks announced the start of an internal reform process in Parliament to “ensure that transparency and accountability are strengthened.”

Given the scandal, the agenda of the parliamentary plenary for this Tuesday in Strasbourg has been modified, and it will be dedicated to debating the case.

On Thursday, a text calling for more transparency in the European institutions will be put to the vote.

In this context, the German Social Democrat MEP René Repasi expressed his fear that the case kaili It’s just the beginning of a bigger nightmare.

“I am afraid that what we see here is only the tip of the iceberg”the legislator told AFP.

MORE INFORMATION | Eva Kaili, the vice president of the European Parliament, had bags of money hidden when she was arrested

One of the powers of kaili as vice president it was to represent the president of Parliament before the Middle East, a function that was suspended by Metsola herself immediately after her arrest.

Given the magnitude of this case, the former TV presenter was also expelled from the Greek Socialist Party (Pasok-Kinal), where she was already seen as a highly controversial figure, and was removed from the Social Democrat bloc in the European Parliament.

In addition, his assets were frozen by the Greek anti-money laundering authority.

The continued detention of kaili will be examined on Wednesday by a Belgian court.

Source: Elcomercio