‘Qatargate’ scandal
The European Prosecutor’s Office asks to withdraw the immunity of the highest-ranking defendant in ‘Qatargate’ for misusing their diets
The ‘Qatargate’ scandal, the alleged plot of bribes and gifts from Qatar and Morocco to influence the decisions of the European Parliament, has been making headlines for a week. But this is not the only investigation in which the name of former vice president Eva Kaili resonates, until now the highest-ranking defendant in the case. The European Prosecutor’s Office has asked to withdraw the immunity of the Greek socialist for her possible involvement in a fraud related to parliamentary allowances and, in particular, with the remuneration of assistants.
The request comes after a report from the Anti-Corruption Office of the European Union (EU) and suspicions that he made fraudulent use of the allowances he received from the European Parliament. This document points to Eva Kaili, currently under arrest after Belgian police found 150,000 euros in cash in her apartment, and also Greek socialist Maria Spyraki of the New Democracy party.
The European Parliament has already received the request from the Prosecutor’s Office and has started the procedure, which will still take several weeks. After learning of this decision, MEP Spyraki assured that she “willingly” accept the suspension of her immunity since she has nothing to hide.
The money in question, he said, “refers to an assignment received by a former MEP who was absent from a couple of sessions of the Eurochamber due to a serious personal problem.” “I have no connection to ‘Qatargate’,” he stressed. For the time being and for the duration of the investigation, the New Democracy party has suspended the MEP.
relaxation of controls
The regulations of the Eurocámara establish that each MEP can choose his staff and to face all these costs he has a maximum amount of 26,734 euros per month. In addition to this amount and their salary, members of the European Parliament are entitled to allowances of 4,778 euros per month to pay expenses derived from parliamentary activities (rent, telephone costs, purchase of computer equipment…).
In October, the plenary session approved a reform that relaxes the control rules for these allowances, which establishes that the only ones responsible for controlling the spending of the funds are the MEPs themselves.
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