Under Qatargate shadow, MEPs tell poorly attended House on need for stricter measures

MEPs in Strasbourg expressed their continued anger, shame, and shock at the allegations of corruption in the unfolding Qatargate scandal, despite a poor attendance inside the European Parliament on Tuesday afternoon to discuss new developments in allegations of corruption and foreign interference.

Their comments came on the day that former Italian MEP Pier Antonio Panzeri, one of four detained in the European Parliament corruption probe, struck a plea deal with the Belgian prosecutor to exchange information for a reduced sentence.

One month after the allegations, MEPs took stock of developments and demanded concrete action to close loopholes.

Opening the debate on behalf of the European Commission, Commissioner Ylva Johansson said that more transparency and accountability alone were not enough to fight corruption, adding that the EC would table a new law to criminalise all forms of corruption, with unified definitions and penalties across the EU and the necessary tools for police and courts. A second set of measures, the “defence of democracy package”, is also being prepared, the Commissioner added. “Nothing but the highest standards will do, for all the institutions,” Johansson said.

MEPs gave contributions on creating an Qatargate committee to investigate the matter, making the EU Transparency Register fully mandatory, establishing an independent ethics body that would initiate investigations on possible conflicts of interest or “revolving door” cases for Commissioners, MEPs and staff; improving whistleblower rules and enforcing existing rules.

Vladimír Bilčík, on behalf of the centre-right EPP, said called for naming and shaming and the need to expose the hypocrisy of “some or our colleagues who allowed this, in defence of human rights, always eager to be critical of their colleagues, have now found themselves in the middle of this corruption scandal.”

Terry Reintke, from the European Greens, called for a stronger, mandatory transparency register by including third-country representatives in the registry, while ensuring that limited and reasoned exceptions for human rights defenders.

Manon Aubry, co-president of the European Left, hit out at the culture of impunity inside the EP that left thed oor wide open to all interference. “Why is President Metsola whipping out another plan with just 11 of the measures... why set up another committee for a root-and-branch overhaul of the Parliament transparency register... I would propose that ethics should finally win over money in 2023.”

Similar criticism came from the Greens’ MEP Daniel Freund. “In December we were pretty unanimous on calling for reforms. Now it seems we are saying ‘no that goes to far...’... we need an open debate and vote in the committees on what needs to change in the House.”

Labour MEP Cyrus Engerer said Qatargate now gave MEPs an opportunity to do implement a strict transparency register first proposed by the EC in 2016. “However in the previous legislature, this mandatory register was not imposed and replaced with a voluntary one. The EP president has a number of proposals, but the requirement of mandatory transparency is weaker than the 2016 proposal. We need to go much beyond that Commission proposal, and make it mandatory for every meeting, every MEP, and for all countries, because we are representing our citizens and have to be transparent on their behalf.”

Charges on Qatargate

Four people so far have been hit with preliminary charges of corruption, money laundering and participation in a criminal organization. Three of them have close connections to the EP’s human rights committee, from where exhortations in favour of Qatar’s dubious progress on human rights had been made on alleged payment by the same government.

The four suspects are: Pier Antonio Panzeri, another socialist and a former MEP who previously chaired the human rights committee; Francesco Giorgi, Panzeri’s ex-assistant who has since worked for one of the committee’s current members; and Giorgi’s partner, Eva Kaili, a Greek Socialist MEP who was ousted as vice president of the Parliament after the Qatargate allegations emerged. The fourth person held on the same preliminary charges is also intimately linked to this panel of MEPs: Niccolò Figà-Talamanca. 

Italian MEP’s admission

Pier Antonio Panzeri, a former Italian MEP among four people detained in the European Parliament corruption probe, on Tuesday struck a plea deal with the Belgian prosecutor to exchange information for a reduced sentence.

The Belgian prosecutor said Panzeri will inform investigators of key details in the ongoing probe into whether foreign countries, including Qatar, illegally influenced the Parliament’s work. Panzeri will hand over information on financial arrangements, the countries involved, who benefited and who was involved.

One of Panzeri’s lawyers, Laurent Kennes, said that Panzeri “also acknowledges participating in a criminal organization, and... being the leader or one of the leaders of the criminal organization.”

Panzeri is expected to admit giving €120,000 to Marc Tarabella, a Belgian socialist MEP, while another Belgian MEP, Maria Arena, appears to have failed to declare a paid-for Qatar trip taken in May 2022.

Panzeri will receive a limited sentence including jail time – that could range from 1 to 10 years –  a fine and confiscation of assets he acquired as part of the scheme, estimated at €1 million.