Status: 01/18/2023 1:41 p.m
The successor to Kaili, the ex-vice-president of the EU Parliament who has been accused of corruption, has been chosen: 59-year-old Marc Angel from Luxembourg prevailed over two competitors from other groups.
As a result of the corruption scandal in the EU Parliament known as “Qatargate”, the body has elected a successor to former Vice President Eva Kaili. In the second ballot, the Social Democrat Marc Angel prevailed.
In the first round of voting, the Luxembourger still missed the necessary absolute majority. In the following ballot, he received 307 votes, defeating his two competitors – the French Green Party politician Gwendoline Delbos-Corfield and Annalisa Tardino from Italy from the right-wing national ID group. Tardino was able to unite 185 votes, Delbos-Corfield got almost 100 votes.
Angel is a member of the S&D group in the European Parliament, as was Kaili before she was expelled over corruption allegations. With the election of the 59-year-old, his parliamentary group will continue to provide five of the 14 Vice-Presidents of Parliament.
Kaili in custody since December 2022
Kaili was dismissed as deputy president of the European Parliament in December with just one vote against. She and three other suspects are accused of involvement in a criminal organization, money laundering and corruption. The background is that the states of Qatar and Morocco are said to have tried to influence political decisions at EU level with gifts of money and goods.
Kaili, who comes from Greece, has been in custody since December 11 last year because of the allegations. She herself had initially denied the allegations against her and blamed her partner, who is also in custody. Kaili later admitted at least some of the allegations against her.
Former Social Democrat MEP Pier Antonio Panzeri is one of the suspects in the corruption scandal. The Belgian judiciary only announced on Tuesday that Panzeri wanted to testify comprehensively about the allegations – in return, the sentence against him could be lighter.
The EU Parliament discusses the consequences of the corruption scandal
The corruption scandal also occupies the EU Parliament with regard to possible reforms that should prevent such a scandal in the future. Among other things, there are proposals that parliamentarians should disclose all meetings with third parties. Or that representatives from countries outside the EU have to register if they want to contact MPs.