European Parliament Seeks To Address Qatari Corruption Scandal Using Bans, Reforms

The European Parliament has ordered the banning of all unofficial "friendship groups" with third countries amid efforts to address the Qatari corruption scandal using bans and reforms.

The financial interests of lawmakers will be scrutinized and a new regime will be considered to track all meetings with third-country representatives, said the president of the parliament, Roberta Metsola, on Thursday. The effort is part of a package of anti-corruption reforms that Metsola said would be ready "in the new year."

European Parliament's Qatari Corruption Scandal

The announcement came as Belgian police have already charged four people, including Greek MEP Eva Kaili, after raids at politicians' homes that uncovered roughly $1.6 million in cash, which was allegedly part of a bribery campaign by Doha.

Metsola on Thursday briefed the EU's 27 leaders on the corruption scandal and said that she would work on overhauling the parliament's regulations. This was aimed at ensuring that the chamber was "not for sale to foreign actors that seek to undermine us."

The parliament president noted that this will include the strengthening of the parliament's whistleblower protection systems, a ban on all unofficial friendship groups, a review of the policing of the code of conduct rules, and a complete and in-depth look at how they interact with third countries, as per the Financial Times.

Many MEPs from the center-right, liberal, and center-left groups have said that they were previously approached by Qatari nationals through the Qatar-EU Parliamentary Friendship Group in Brussels. The group works in cooperation with the Qatari embassy which is located in Brussels.

Furthermore, the parliament has said that they would review who could access its buildings and non-government organizations accredited to the institution. Lawmakers also suspended the accreditation of No Peace Without Justice, an NGO that Metsola said was "allegedly connected to this investigation," on Wednesday.

According to EuroNews, Kaili, together with three other suspects, were charged with participation in a criminal organization, corruption, and money laundering. The four suspects still remain in the custody of law enforcement personnel.

Bans on EU Officials

Authorities have already ousted Kaili from her role as European Parliament Vice President and from her membership in the socialist group known as S&D. Since Friday, police conducted more than 20 searches and seized millions in cash and frozen IT resources from Parliament employees to prevent the disappearance of key data.

On Thursday, a resolution was passed with 541 votes in favor and only two against where MEPs described themselves as being "appalled" by the revelations and underlined the "gravity and magnitude" of the case.

Also, a draft text reads that the parliament "denounces, in the strongest terms, Qatar's alleged attempts to influence Members, former Members and staff of the European Parliament through acts of corruption, which constitute serious foreign interference in the EU's democratic processes."

A press release also noted that there was suspicion of fraud detrimental to the EU budget that was related to the management of the parliamentary allowance. There were also reports that noted Kaili's husband, who is one of the suspects detained, admitted to being part of an organization that worked to interfere with the Parliament on behalf of Qatar and Morocco, DW News reported.