EU parliament chief to disclose reforms amid graft scandal

• 

The European Parliament's President will attempt to get ahead of a bribery scandal that has shaken the legislature on Monday by officially proposing a number of reforms to clean up the multinational body.

However, many MEPs and observers fear that the adjustments proposed by Roberta Metsola will not go far enough to restore the institution's credibility.

Since the arrest of one of Metsola's 14 vice presidents a month ago, Belgian police raided the homes and offices of many MEPs, former MEPs, parliamentary assistants, and heads of NGOs dealing with legislators. Furthermore, the parliament has been the subject of intensive investigation.

Belgian prosecutors are looking into allegations of bribery in the European Parliament that benefited Qatar and Morocco. The police raids resulted in the discovery of $1.6 million in cash.

Simultaneously, Qatar has denied any involvement in the case's misconduct. Morocco claims it is the victim of an unwarranted "media onslaught" as a result of the charges.

Eva Kaili, Metsola's arrested vice-president and a Greek MEP who has since lost that high parliamentary position, has similarly stated through her lawyer that she had no knowledge of the cash discovered at her residence.

Kaili remains in custody with three other suspects: Kaili's boyfriend Francesco Giorgi, who was a parliamentary aide; former MEP Pier Antonio Panzeri; and Niccolo Figa-Talamanca, head of an NGO suspected of making payments to MEPs.

All three of the male suspects are Italian. Giorgi has confessed, as per a Belgian media report.

All four are charged in Belgium with "criminal organization, corruption in addition to money laundering." Greece and Italy have launched their own investigations.

Metsola has promised to work quickly to "strengthen integrity, independence, and accountability" in the legislature. She has previously argued the bribery case proved "European democracy is under siege."

Metsola will officially launch the parliament's first plenary session of 2023 in Strasbourg, eastern France, on Monday by announcing proposals that have already been trailed.

These include restricting former MEPs' parliamentary access, registering outside individuals who lobby, meet, or speak at the parliament, creating a public MEPs' registry of gifts and trips received and penalizing violations.

However, legal experts and even senior MEPs are skeptical that these initiatives go far enough.

Alberto Alemanno, a professor of EU law at the French business school HEC, stated that he did not believe that "imposing these few rules would be sufficient to create a new political culture in the European Parliament."

"The scandal is much more serious than others for the credibility of the European Union," he said as quoted by AFP. "We could have expected a more serious, more structural response than in the past."

Among MEPs, the president of the centrist Renew grouping in the parliament, Stephane Sejourne, said the incident proved the need to create an EU organization tasked with "transparency in public life at the European level."

The European Commission has previously proposed such an idea, but it has never gained traction.

It is worth noting that the scandal threatens to overshadow this week's plenary session of parliament.

Following Metsola's presentation of reforms, the chamber will vote on who will succeed Kaili in her vacant parliamentary vice-president's position on Wednesday.

According to experts, the issue, called "Qatargate" by some MEPs and the media, might sully elections for the next European Parliament in 18 months.

Public reaction to the scandal is "much stronger -- much more -- than what European leaders want to admit," Alemanno said. 

Read next: EU strips VP Kaili of title over Qatar probe, seeks reform