“This is an attack on the European Parliament” – it is hard to find a more foolish or cynical comment on the scandal that has engulfed one of the three pillars of the European Union. To make matters worse, these words were delivered by Roberta Metsola Tedesco Triccas - the President of the European Parliament – who, as the institution’s leader, probably felt obliged to defend at all costs. As the situation is bad and beyond creepy, simple common sense should order Mrs Metsola to be more prudent and restrained in her words; Because only a few months ago, she herself (there will be more on that matter later) was involved in forcing the candidature of a man to a very high position who, according to many people, should not be holding it at all.

What is happening now in Brussels and Strasbourg is not an "attack on parliament". It was the European Parliament itself that worked hard for the scandal. For allegations and suspicions, for the discredit of a few prominent MEPs and people from the parliamentary staff. There are certainly many reasons for this, among them - although it is an indirect factor - one can include the game of “Keeping Up Appearances”, played by MEPs and the parliament as such. The European Parliament pretends to be a real parliament, just like national parliaments, and MEPs pretend to be able to do a lot, maybe even everything… Both are not true.

Qatargate

This is how the Qatargate was born; On one side - we have a scandal with the World Cup and the ambitions of the Qatari authorities in the background, and on the other - the Eurocrats' arrogance, greed and lack of principles. Threads that intertwine here would successfully make a good detective story (such a story might be created because the investigating judge, Michel Calise, writes books based on the cases he deals with). So far, four people are in custody, including the most important: Eva Kaili, Vice-President of the European Parliament until December 13, young, pretty, and glamorous. One and a half million Euros stuffed in the corners of the suspects' apartments - all in sacks and packages; Inquisitive Belgian police and the question: who else?

The attention is also focused on one man from an even higher level. This is Margaritis Schinas, Vice-President of the European Commission, Greek and therefore Kaili's compatriot. She denies it, and so does he, but his recent praise for the Qatari authorities and the changes they have made to the labour market raise suspicions, the same as the intriguing silence of Ursula von der Leyen when journalists asked her about Schinas.

The next question is: where else? Which country bought Brussels’ favour? Maybe Morocco? This name is already in the news.

Why Qatargate if Belgian investigators did not reveal the name of the country corrupting MEPs? For now, we are talking about "one of the countries in the Middle East." But observers from the first moment had no difficulty deciphering which country was actually in question. Firstly, it happens that Qatar has recently been very active in making contacts with Brussels, and secondly, it had a reason. Or even two.

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  The FIFA World Cup has given Qatar a special focus – starting with the question of why FIFA selected the country. The oil-rich emirate was of course able to reward the favours of those who made the decisions. Later, there was another concern about the working conditions of foreign workers who built stadiums and other facilities because there were too many accidents on construction sites. Finally, the democratic world realised that Qatar is an autocratic monarchy where human rights are not properly respected (especially in the LGBT field).

On one hand, the interest was related to making an assessment, and on the other, to the need to examine the situation on the spot; and thus the visits of MEPs. The ratings got better and better over time. Guests from Brussels appreciated the Qatari authorities' efforts to improve the labour market situation.

Quite recently, during the November parliamentary session, Eva Kaili praised the "historical transformation" Qatar has undergone by hosting the World Cup tournament. They enforced new standards and thus, she said, "Qatar is at the forefront of labour rights."

Without visible improvement, there would be no discussion about concluding the EU-Qatari visa-free agreement. Such an agreement is like a certificate of morality, even if it has little practical significance. After all, Qatar has less than 3 million inhabitants, and for millions of Europeans it is not, at least for now, a strong tourist magnet.

The second reason is different. The Qatari authorities are extremely keen to conclude an air traffic cooperation agreement with the European Union, which will give the airlines unhindered access to the airspace of the other party. Such an agreement would open up great opportunities for Qatar Airways, a large and reputable carrier (five stars in the Skytrax classification - no other carrier or European airline company have so many). And since it must have the approval of the European Parliament, there is a lot to strive for.

Friendship with Putin's man

The real media hit today are the photographs of offices with sealed doors, not only in the huge building of the European Parliament in Brussels but also in its less frequently used seat in Strasbourg. The police also searched over a dozen private houses and flats, mainly securing computers and other electronic media; the first auditions are underway. This is probably not the end because the investigation is only gaining momentum.

Eva Kaili, representing the Greek socialists, is in custody. She has already been removed from the leadership of the European Parliament, where she found herself as a representative of the S&D political group, i.e. Socialists and Democrats, and also from her own party, PASOK. She is charged with accepting bribes, money laundering fraud and participation in an organised crime. Other members of that group - also detained - are three Italians, including Francesco Giorgi, an assistant to one of the Italian MEPs, as well as Eva Kaili’s partner, and Pier Antonio Panzeri - a former MEP - later the founder of the Fight Impunity NGO ( Indeed! Fight impunity - God help them - prophetic name).

It seems the corrupt business had a family character. Eva Kaili's father was detained in Brussels but released after the hearing. Greek authorities froze all of the family's assets. Eva Kaili's Greek interests are particularly under scrutiny. The Real Estate company she and her partner recently founded in Athens could be a money laundering scam. Antonio Panzeri's wife and daughter were arrested in Italy.

In this spectacular way - as short as it was extravagant – comes to an end the political career of the 44-year-old MEP, who managed to be a councillor in Thessaloniki, where she comes from, a member of the Greek parliament (since 2007, she won a seat at the age of 29), and also the TV presenter. She found herself in Brussels after the 2014 European elections. She did not let herself be known from any particular side except for one. As "Politico" writes, Kaili together with Francesco Giorgi constituted the so-called "power couple", i.e. an influential team, where partners work for joint success, supporting each other in public activities.

However, a few things are worth noting because they say much about Eva Kaili. For example, she told in her time that her grandfather was murdered by Greek communists, which turned out to be untrue. However, much more important from the point of view of current events is that in Thessaloniki, she was often seen with the Greek-Russian billionaire Ivan Savvidis. Greek - because Savvidis, born in Georgia, comes from a large community of Pontic Greeks. What is important, he is closely associated with Vladimir Putin.

Finally, even Mrs Kaili's party doubts her loyalty, accusing her of - among other things - suspiciously close contacts with the moderate right-wing New Democracy party currently ruling in Greece.

Shameful connections

Qatargate casts a shadow not only on the European Parliament but also on NGOs and non-governmental organisations. From a certain date, some of them have been pilloried anyway - for their role in transporting illegal immigrants across the Mediterranean. NGOs justify their actions with humanitarian objectives, but it is known - and this is not a good reason for glory - that such transports are carried out in cooperation with people smugglers operating in the north of Africa.

Therefore, well-known Eurocrats - including Federica Mogherini (once responsible for the Foreign relations of the European Union) and Dimitris Avramopoulos (Ex-Commissioner of Immigration) - decided to withdraw from the board of the Fight Impunity organisation without delay. The organisation’s creator - let us remind you - is Pier Antonio Panzeri, who worked closely with the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights. Now, it has turned out that the Fight Impunity organisation had no right to do so, because it was not entered in the register of the admitted ones. Federica Mogherini and Dimitris Avramopoulos are not under any suspicion, and they didn't have a job in Fight Impunity other than to be there. Each of the names only needed to add splendour to that organisation.

"Shame on you!" – said Commissioner Ylva Johansson during the debate in Strasbourg, and it must be said that she was the only Eurocrat who spoke with a human voice. Other statements from Brussels’ important people were an example of the classic EU newspeak: trivial words and no substance. It was repeated, over and over again, that democracy should be watched over, that we need to act following its principles, and in particular - that we must focus on creating procedures that would prevent situations such as the present one, which should be taken into account. It is all about the rules governing the lobbying procedure when the state acts as a lobbyist. And President Metsola ardently argued that: "for the enemies of democracy, the very existence of this parliament is a thorn in the side."

“You disgraced us when we legally and completely transparently took out a loan from a Czech-Russian bank. At the same time, Qatar handed over suitcases full of banknotes to the corrupt people of the camp, which was presented as the "good camp". What a shame!” – these words were used on Twitter by Marine Le Pen - the former head of the French National Assembly – as she commented on the Qatargate scandal. And Viktor Orbán, also on Twitter, sent his greetings to the European Parliament, accompanied by a photo of world leaders with the caption: "And they said that the European Parliament is seriously concerned about corruption in Hungary."

The European right-wing must have received the Qatargate with a note of satisfaction, which is completely understandable. The European Parliament is full of people ready to condemn all who stay away from the obligatory progressive stream, be it parties or countries.

The Qatargate scandal showed how deceptive it could be to believe that the high salaries - of officials or other persons performing public functions - effectively protect against corruption. Even if there is much truth in such a belief, in this case, the mechanism did not work at all. Let's put it bluntly, MEPs are paid extremely well and above the value of what they deliver and contribute to public life with their work.

And often, they spoil public life. A few months ago, the European Parliament was to elect a new Secretary-General, i.e. the head of the parliamentary administration, to replace the leaving Klaus Welle. Roberta Metsola, with the support of the European People's Party, proposed her assistant, Mr Alessandro Chiocchetti for this significant post. His candidacy raised many doubts due to his former contacts, e.g. with a politician convicted in Italy for his ties with Mafia. In the face of opposition from other political fractions, his planned election could not be accomplished.

The high parliamentary authority, under the name of the "secret office", used a clever trick, creating a new parliamentary directorate and new positions offered to opponents from the Left and Renew Europe. It is not forbidden, but it has little to do with decency in politics.

In the fraction of socialists, also opposed to Chiocchetti, only two deputies broke ranks. One of them was Eva Kaili. In light of current events, this may raise legitimate questions. With what effect on the parliament itself? It remains to be seen. At least we should see the result.

–Teresa Stylińska

TVP WEEKLY. Editorial team and journalists

–translated by Katarzyna Chocian