The European Union has already experienced one or two cases of corruption. But seldom has their credibility been in such danger as it is now. After MEP Eva Kaili and three other people were arrested on suspicion of corruption. They are said to have been bribed by Qatar. The Belgian police seized a total of 1.5 million euros in cash in the case.
Katarina Barley from the SPD was a colleague of Eva Kaili’s faction. And she is, like the arrested Eva Kaili, one of the vice-presidents of the European Parliament. She says: “Eva Kaili was always a weird character.” She was appalled and stunned by this corruption scandal. The EU Parliament’s transparency register is one of the strictest of all – “but criminals can only be deterred by relentlessly clarifying the matter and hopefully there will be a really tough punishment.”
Nevertheless, according to Barley, things have to change, for example the protection of whistleblowers has to be improved. The aim for Parliament is now to clarify the cases and to put the applicable rules to the test. “This is absolutely necessary so that we, as a Parliament, as the European Union, but also as a politician, can regain trust.”
The editorial deadline for this program was Friday, December 16, 2022 at 6 p.m.
Moderation, editing: Tami Holderried
Editors: Vinzent-Vitus Leitgeb, Johannes Korsche
Production: Benjamin Markthaler
Additional audio material via Reuters, ZDF, AFP, YouTube (Vaandervik).
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