Belgium, (Brussels Morning Newspaper) MEPs from across the political divide have made a fresh call for action in the wake of the “Qatargate” scandal which has engulfed parliament.
The Socialist group has adopted what it calls a ‘Zero Tolerance for corruption’ policy following the revelations.
It follows the decision to expel Greek member Eva Kaili from the S&D Group with immediate effect and remove other MEPs linked to the investigation from their functions.
Kaili, it is thought, will stay in jail after a Belgian court decided to extend her pre-trial detention for a month.
The group says it is “appalled” by the allegations of corruption and has now set up an internal inquiry preceding the European Parliament’s own inquiry committee.
The group will vote on 11 January an S&D candidate for the European Parliament’s vice-president to replace Kaili who has professed her innocence in the case.
A statement reads, “The Bureau fully supports the suspension of an S&D staff member following serious misconduct related to the ongoing judicial investigation. The Secretariat of the S&D Group immediately informed the competent Belgian authorities and continues to fully cooperate with all investigating authorities.”
It says it “stands united in the fight against corruption” and “is committed to act firmly and decisively to root out corruption and outside interference in the S&D Group and the European Parliament as a whole. No stone will be left unturned.”
Centre right members, meanwhile, say “it is important that the European Parliament learns a serious lesson and improves its internal organisation and transparency.”
ECR MEP Jacek Saryusz-Wolski said: “The corruption scandal in the European Parliament has exposed hypocrisy and double standards that cannot be tolerated.
“We need to face the truth. The case of Qatar is only the tip of the iceberg.”
The ECR Group points out that other countries are “also known to be trying to interfere massively in the decision-making processes of the European Parliament.”
It adds, “We therefore see a need for a general assessment of how to deal with state lobbying.”
Saryusz-Wolski concluded, “Special attention must be paid to cases of high-level lobbying to identify potential cases of corruption, also from Russia, Iran and China. That’s why the ECR Group proposed plenary amendments in this sense.”
The influence machine in Brussels is huge and is second only to Washington DC. At least 48,000 people work in Brussels and seek to influence the EU institutions and their decisions, 7,500 of them possess an accredited lobby badge to the European Parliament.
It is reported that nearly 12,000 organisations on the current EU lobby register declare a combined annual lobby budget of €1.8 billion.
