The Belgian court grants probation to the former vice-president of the European Parliament Eva Kaili, implicated in ‘Qatargate’ | International

After four months in preventive detention, the Greek MEP Eva Kaili will be able to wait under probation for the start of the trial for the qatargate, the scandal of alleged bribery of high-ranking members of the European Parliament by countries like Qatar or Morocco that has deeply shaken the European institutions. The former socialist vice president of the European Parliament was the last of the detainees in Brussels who was still behind bars, and the one with the highest profile, after the investigating judge in charge of the case accepted, in recent days, the release of the alleged ringleader of the plot, the former Italian deputy Pier Antonio Panzeri, and the Belgian MEP Marc Tarabella.

Other suspects, the Italian socialist Andrea Cozzolino, remains under house arrest in Naples, after the Italian justice once again delayed this week the decision to deport him to Belgium. The European Parliament had approved the lifting of the immunity of Tarabella and Cozzolino at the beginning of February, which triggered legal actions against the two MEPs days after, who until today deny their involvement in the plot.

“The judge has decided to put Mrs. Kaili under electronic surveillance,” the Greek’s Belgian beggar, Sven Mary, confirmed by email to EL PAÍS. The decision was made hours before the hearing scheduled for this Thursday in which her defense was going to demand, once again, her release.

It is not clear, however, when the order will take effect. Even so, her defense has celebrated a decision that she has been demanding for months in part for humanitarian reasons, since Kaili is the mother of a two-year-old girl whom she has barely been able to see in all this time. “Eva Kaili leaves prison with her head held high and with dignity, she has not confessed to the crimes she has not committed, she will fight for her innocence until the end,” said her Greek lawyer, Michalis Dimitrakopoulos. .

Belgian justice had repeatedly refused to allow him any kind of house arrest or probation since his arrest on December 9, in the framework of a spectacular police operation in Brussels that ended with half a dozen arrests and the seizure of more than 1.5 million of euros in suitcases and boxes at the homes of some senior European officials, including Kaili.

The Greek, who after her arrest was quickly dismissed as one of the 14 vice-presidents of Parliament, and also expelled from the group of Socialists and Democrats (S&D) —where the main defendants were active— and from the Greek Pasok party, has always claimed her innocence , despite the fact that in the initial operation his father was arrested with a suitcase full of money. His partner and former parliamentary assistant Francesco Giorgi was also arrested in the operation, although Belgian justice depended on his supervised release in February, after he confessed his involvement in the payment scheme in exchange for trying to influence European family decisions in the interests of the countries identified as sources of the bribes, although both Qatar and Morocco have denied any responsibility.

The decision to grant probation to Kaili now was expected, given that justice had already taken this step in the past few days for both Panzeri and Tarabella. The former Italian MEP, founder of the NGO Fight Impunity, which he probably used as a cover for his bribes, accepted a “repentance” agreement in January in which he acknowledged his guilt and promised to reveal the entire plot in exchange for a lesser sentence and, presumably, preferential treatment for his family. Shortly thereafter, his wife and daughter, who were being held in Italy on charges of involvement in the bribery scheme, were released. On the contrary, Tarabella, who was not arrested until February, has always denied any charge and his defense accuses Panzeri of incriminating him in order to relieve himself of responsibilities and satisfy the Belgian investigators. After it became known that he would also be released on probation in the next few hours or days, a spokesman for the Belgian socialist expressed Tarabella’s “willingness” to continue collaborating in the investigations, although he recalled that “he has always denied having received money or any gift in exchange for their opinions.”

All those now freed must, however, appear in court when the trial opens, on a date not yet announced. You should also compare the Italian trade unionist Luca Visentini, whose alleged involvement in the plot, which he also denies, cost him his position at the head of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) in March.

Towards a greater integration of the European Parliament

The European Parliament itself also has pending tasks. behind the shock that used the wave of arrests in December, both the MEPs and the president of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, promised to quickly implement transparency and “integrated” measures that would prevent a new qatargate. La Maltesa presented 14 initial targets in January that received the go-ahead from the various political groups a month later, although implementation of most of the initiatives has yet to begin. Something that, parliamentary sources assert to this newspaper, is about to change.

In fact, next Monday, when a new plenary begins in Strasbourg, two of the most awaited measures must be formally approved, a new mandatory “incompatibility period” for former MEPs who want to lobby the European Parliament once their term is over. mandate and the revision of the rules for former MEPs, who will no longer be able to have permanent access, but will have to request daily passes to enter the Eurochamber. Although both measures have been claimed by both MEPs and by organizations that ensure the transparency of the institutions, there has been criticism especially of the “revolving doors” measure, since although Metsola’s initial proposal was that this period be of two years, the same as that imposed by the European Commission, was finally reduced to six months. A period that is considered almost useless since, an observer will point out, that time is what the new Chamber needs to start working for real, so the effectiveness of this measure would be, they say, annulled.

According to the sources, on Monday two other Metsola measures will also be discussed, although they will not be approved: the imposition of stronger controls on “representatives of interests”, who must necessarily register in the transparency registry, and the register together with all the people who visit the European Parliament specifying the “date, time and reason for the visit”, except accredited journalists and representatives of other institutions with a permanent pass.

Others two more measures – the fight against foreign interference by strengthening human rights work and the increase in the fight against corruption – are also already underway since they only required a stricter application of existing rules, the sources said. Regarding the remaining eight reforms, they require a change in the procedural rules that must first be agreed by the Constitutional Affairs Committee and then voted on in plenary, which, they will point out, will take a little more time. No fruit, the sources say they are confident that the limit “before the summer” imposed by Metsola will be met, which also hopes to put other more far-reaching reforms on track before the end of the year, although it acknowledges that the Parliament that arises will have to implement them of the 2024 European elections.

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