The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, today expressed her concern about the results of the police investigation that led to the “serious” accusation of the Vice President of the European Parliament, Eva Kaili, on suspicion of participation in a criminal network. with links to Qatar.
“The accusations against the vice-president of the European Parliament are of the utmost concern. [São] very serious”, commented the President of the European Commission, considering that it is “a matter of people’s trust in the institutions and that trust (…) needs a higher level and independence and integrity”.
Von der Leyen admits that the European Commission maintains regular contacts with Qatar to address “global issues such as climate change, (…) regional issues such as peace and stability in Afghanistan and the Middle East and bilateral issues such as diversification away from Russia and Russian Fossil Fuels”.
During the energy crisis, European politicians have tried not to antagonize the country, which is one of the largest producers of liquefied natural gas. But, Von der Leyen assures that the talks also address sensitive issues.
“The European Union continues to be an active voice on the issues where we see problems, for example through the regular dialogue on human rights that we have and that happens at the level of senior officials, at the official level,” he said. .
Shock wave
Recently, at the opening of the World Cup, the vice president of the European Commission, Margaritis Schinas, visited the country, seen as an alternative supplier to Russian gas. The Greek’s statements have been seen as friendly towards the country, highly criticized in terms of human rights and labor rights.
Von der Leyen guarantees that the Commission services are already reviewing the transparency records to make sure that the shock wave does not reach the community executive, and to guarantee that contacts with Qatar are not suspicious.
“For our part, we are reviewing the Transparency Registry that we have where all the meetings of collegiate members and members of their offices with representatives of [grupos] interests”, said the president, asked if she would support the demonstrations in favor of Qatar, expressed publicly by the vice-president of the European Commission, the Greek, Margaritis Schinas.
“I think that as long as there is no new information, everything is normal. But in fact, if some type of new information occurs, we will have to act and react, ”said the head of the community executive.
Research
Belgian politics launched an operation this Friday that resulted in the arrest in “flagrant crime” of the Vice President of the European Parliament, the Greek Eva Kaili, who is subject to the maximum measure of coercion, in preventive detention since this Sunday. The deputy’s husband is also in custody, as well as former MEP António Panzeri.
Eva Kaili is accused of “corruption, money laundering and participation in a criminal organization”. The father of MEP Eva Kaili is also in the crosshairs of the operation that began on Friday. Alexandros Kailis was caught outside a Brussels hotel with a suitcase full of banknotes but was released on Sunday. Another target is the general secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation, Luca Visentini, who was also released.
According to Belgian law, arrests to determine coercive measures cannot last more than 48 hours. The president of the International Trade Union Confederation, Luca Visentini, was released, but with coercive measures.
On Friday, Belgian police carried out searches of 16 homes in Brussels and on the outskirts of the city, seizing a total of 600,000 euros in cash, mobile phones and computer equipment.
Investigators from the Belgian Judicial Police have suspected for several months that a Gulf country may be influencing the economic and political decisions of the European Parliament.
Suspicions point to actions undertaken by Qatar to contact members “with a significant political and/or strategic position”, rewarding them with gifts and large sums of money, to influence the European Parliament, in the positions on human rights in Qatar.
Eva Kaili recently stated that Qatar is a “pioneer in workers’ rights”. These statements were made after a meeting with the Qatari Minister of Labour.
As is well known, there have been numerous international public expressions of concern about working conditions in Qatar, in particular about the construction of the stadiums that will host the soccer World Cup.
Source: TSF
