Only real accountability usually remains.
According to the results of a recently published research, one in four of the current members of the European Parliament has had problems with the law, rules or transparency. Everything is here: sexual violence, corruption, abuse of office.
The corruption scandal of the European Parliament, Qatargate, does not go away:
the police recently extended the investigation to a new representative, the Belgian socialist Maria Arena - more than a year after it was launched. Three other representatives (Eva Kaili, Andrea Cozzolino and Marc Tarabella) have already been charged with involvement in a criminal organization, money laundering and corruption.
However, these highly publicized cases are only the ones that have become the focus of interest through the press. A recently published report compiled by investigative journalists shows with astonishing simplicity that practically everything around the house of the EP representatives stinks.
the Dutch Follow the Money (FTM) platform, almost a quarter of the members of the European Parliament have already found themselves in highly questionable and scandalous situations from a moral or legal point of view, including those in which they committed a violation of the law in the strictest sense of the word.
Serious statistics
Of the 704 MEPs examined, at least 163 have already been charged in at least one specific case - related to corruption, fraud, theft. These procedures covered a total of 253 specific cases, and twenty-three of the representatives have so far been found guilty or condemned in some way by the courts or the appointed bodies, the Brussel Signal .
Cases of harassment, including sexual harassment, are usually on the front pages of newspapers. There was an example of this in the case of thirty-seven representatives.
According to FTM's research, the cases are scattered across a wide spectrum: there are those who used the title of professor without authorization, others sold an iPhone that someone had abandoned, and of course there are representatives suspected of Katargate, as well as those mentioned above the Italian Lara Comi or the Greek Joánnisz Lágosz, who was convicted in another case (for crimes committed in a criminal organization) in his country, but is unable and unwilling to start serving his sentence until his immunity is suspended.
Of the known cases, i.e. those documented on the basis of a report, bribery was suspected in sixteen cases, nepotism was the charge in twenty-nine (relatives and friends getting jobs at the representative's workplace, trickery with travel expenses, etc.), fraud or theft in forty-four, and pure corruption in forty-five. was the subject of suspicion.
Our favorite Hungarophobic MEP, Guy Verhofstadt, while every week he throws tantrums and screams his accusations of corruption at Hungary, quietly bids farewell to the European Parliament after he announced the end of his career just as Qatargate broke out, surrounded by suspicions of luxury villas renovated with public funds, offshore companies and bribes. .
Surprising timing…
From a litter
After the Qatargate scandal broke out, the investigation is just plodding along. The situation is made much more difficult by the fact that the units of the European Parliament are not really helpful in untangling the threads. The EU Ombudsman stated pessimistically: "Qatargate has undermined the reputation of the European Parliament in the eyes of many EU citizens. Before the elections, the EP should demonstrate that it is doing everything to protect its integrity and credibility".
The European Parliament does not do this much.
MEPs' immunity is reported to be a breeding ground for serious abuse, and this culture has permeated the entire institution, which shuts down and looks away benevolently while its members cause serious problems.
In any case, the FTM will prepare its own investigation every year, during which - similarly to the current one - only those cases will be taken into account that have had a concrete consequence (criminal proceedings, reprimand, conviction) or when there is convincing evidence against the representative's denial that completely undermines it that.
The research will also examine the abuse of power, information and organizational resources, the manipulation of power, and highly morally objectionable behavior, thus creating a system that can monitor the negative or positive changes in the number of cases handled by MEPs from year to year.
However, the main problem will always be immunity, with which everyone who can be suspected of having butter behind their ears is covered in abundance. Eva Kaili's immunity was revoked by the EU court just this month. But not because of Qatargate, that is, not because he is accused of corruption, money laundering and participation in a criminal organization. The reason for the withdrawal was a simple budget trick after it was discovered that one of his assistants had not shown up for work for four years in exchange for his salary, and several others had taken reimbursements for trips that never existed.
It is true that Al Capone was eventually sent to prison only for tax evasion. Because there's always a banana peel.
Featured image: Belgian MEP Guy Verhofstadt (Photo: Europress/AFP/Alexandros Michailidis)
