Brussels, Belgium:

The EU is engulfed in a serious scandal involving corrupt members of its oligarchy as well as a cohort of socialist Members of the European Parliament and ex-MEPs. It appears some people have been receiving cash from Qatar in exchange for peddling their influence in Brussels. Amongst the five politicians and EU apparatchiks detained by the Belgian police are EU Parliament, and Vice-President Eva Kaili. According to the Belgian media she was charged with corruption. The Belgian federal police stated she had committed ‘alleged offences of criminal organization, corruption and money laundering.

Professor Frank Furedi, Executive Director of the think tank MCC Brussels, said today:

 “ What is most scandalous about the European Parliament’s Qatar corruption scandal is its response to it. With bags containing hundreds of thousands of euros in cash, charges of criminal organisation, corruption and money laundering, the scandal surrounding the EU has all the making of an intriguing Netflix crime drama. And yet, the European Parliament has studiously avoided making an official statement about the corrupt behaviour of its members. 

“At first sight, the lack of response from an institution that claims to ‘stand firmly against corruption is puzzling. The EU parliament is continually on a mission to discover corrupt behaviour amongst Eastern and Southern European member states. However, the same MEPs who ceaselessly accuse Hungary or Poland of corruption appear to be curiously reticent about denouncing those involved in what many seasoned observers have described as the ‘most serious, ‘most shocking,’ ‘most egregious’ corruption scandal ‘to hit Brussels in years.”

Furedi continued; “The reason why members of the EU bubble have opted to embrace a strategy of silence is that the scandal directly implicates a way of life to which they have become habituated”. 

Furedi stated, “Experience has shown that for decades, corruption has been integral to the brand of the EU. In 1999, the Santer Commission, a body composed of 20 members charged with overseeing the introduction of the euro was forced to shut down owing to allegations of corruption. Its members resigned to avoid being forced out. That corruption is still very much a fact of life in Brussels is shown by the fact that it rarely becomes headline news. In its last report in 2022, the Court of Auditors found 15 cases of fraud from only a tiny sample of transactions audited. We will never know the real scale of error and fraud. The reason why we will never know the true scale of corruption in Brussels is because sections of the EU oligarchy are determined to prevent its exposure from the European public. Indeed, the EU Commission is desperate to ensure that its new ethics body will be effectively toothless, without any serious powers. It is as if the EU is worried by what would be uncovered.”

Frank Furedi concluded; “The arrest of EU Parliament Vice-President Eva Kaili and the exposure of corruption amongst NGO leaders and MEPs who never cease to talk about human rights and social justice is important because it exposes the hollowness of their rhetoric. It is also evident that for these people the EU’s attack on corruption in East Europe serves to deflect attention from their own criminal behaviour.

“It is time for Brussels to clean up its own mess before pointing the finger of blame at its political enemies.”