“Who is the most recognizable member of the European Parliament? sounds like the set-up of a joke, along the lines of “Who’s the best-dressed Boris Johnson impersonator?” Yet he now has a punchline: Eva Kaili, who started the week – but didn’t end it – as Deputy Speaker of Parliament (don’t worry, there are still 13 to go). Mrs. Kaili, a Greek European deputyis now the poster child for what is arguably the worst case of sleaze in the six-decade history of the EU establishments. On December 9, Belgian police arrested six people, four of whom, including Ms Kaili, were later charged with corruption and money laundering. More than 1.5 million euros ($1.6 million) in cash payments allegedly made by Qatar have been recovered by Belgian police, who carried out 20 searches mainly related to the sitting or old position European deputys and their staff. Mrs. Kaili, a former newsreader, and her Italian partner, an assistant in parliament, languish in a Brussels prison. They deny wrongdoing, as does Qatar, which calls the allegations “unsubstantiated”. Her father, arrested after being caught dragging a suitcase full of cash from a hotel near parliament, was released as a suspected accomplice.
As the investigation continues, a climate of nervousness, confusion and outrage has gripped Brussels (and Strasbourg, where parliament ridiculously decamps once a month). There are signs indicating the possible cause of any transplant. Qatar wants its citizens to be able to vacation in Europe without a visa, an advantage offered to many rich countries. It seemed to be coming a week ago, but is now on ice. He also wanted to temper criticism of his treatment of migrant workers during the World Cup. Ms Kaili had said that Qatar was “a frontrunner in labor rights”, an unpopular opinion in Europe. His center-left political group appears to have worked to soften a motion criticizing Qatar. Another arrested person, Pier Antonio Panzeri, a European deputy until 2019, is at the head of a NGO called, of all things, Fighting Impunity. (He could not be reached for comment.)
If the allegations against these people were to prove true, would that be evidence of a deep rot in the EU? Probably not. More than 60,000 people work in the European institutions, including ten thousand in the parliament alone. Every political system has crooks. In America, $90,000 was found in a congressman’s freezer shortly after he met with lobbyists. The fewer questions asked about the financing of past French elections, the better. British deputys claimed ridiculously dubious expenses before the media exposed them. The list continues. Qatar was known to have one or two bill-counting machines at its disposal: between 2011 and 2015, Britain’s Prince Charles, as he then was, reportedly accepted 3 million euros in cash from a Qatari politician (quite legally for his charities, it was pointed out).
But sordid scandals could damage the European Parliament – and by extension the EU as a whole – more than they do for national policies. Because unlike the national legislatures, the Brussels parliament works in relative obscurity. Voters in a typical European country who hear of a local politician caught in the act will compare the story to many other coverages of local politics and conclude that bad behavior is the exception. On the other hand, this story of euro-corruption caused a stir on an otherwise blank canvas. Reports of Ms Kaili’s antics put the European Parliament at the top of evening news bulletins across the continent. It is extremely rare, if not unprecedented.
Questions will be asked about how the Brussels institutions police themselves. Strangely, it was the Belgian authorities who dismantled the alleged network of corruption, not the EU. More than a quarter of European deputys have a second job, according to Transparency International, a lobby group. In theory they are not supposed to act as lobbyists, but in practice few are in a hurry to give much detail about what they do. The rules are stricter than before, but penalties are rare, although a (much smaller) corruption scandal brought down the entire European Commission in the 1990s.
This week’s scandal will disrupt the European Parliament’s bid to crack down on corruption among the bloc’s 27 member states. Ironically, at a time when the police cordoned off the offices of Parliament as possible crime scenes, the EU has achieved rare success in the fight against corruption. On 12 December, Member States agreed to suspend €6.3 billion in EU subsidies to Hungary until it adheres to the fundamental principles of the rule of law. European deputys had been among the most effective advocates of a crackdown on corruption in Hungary, where the ruling party is wasting European taxpayers’ money on dodgy projects. Viktor Orban, the strong man of the Hungarian Prime Minister, is now delighted with the EUis uncomfortable.
More money, no problem
The European Parliament has many capable and hard-working members. The legislation that it modifies and votes (it does not have the power to propose its own bills) is often improved by its expertise. However, it struggles to make a strong impression on the general public. The brightest national deputys often rise to important positions in government. The brightest deputys are mainly known to a few Twitter obsessives in the Brussels bubble, despite the additional powers granted to the chamber in 2009. As a result, much of parliament’s energy is spent trying to secure more powers. It’s a cause that few outsiders find appealing.
The scandal marks a bad end to what had been a good year for the EU and its establishments. The bloc has been much more united than expected in helping Ukraine: a new tranche of 18 billion euros in aid was to be approved at a summit in EU leaders like The Economist went to press. Tough sanctions have been imposed on Russia and are being tightened even as a retaliatory energy embargo has driven up heating bills in Europe. The European Parliament can claim little credit for all this. He has little weight in high politics. His job is to give a veneer of democratic legitimacy to the strange contraption that is the EU. Before asking for more powers, we will have to settle this mess. ■
Read more from Charlemagne, our columnist on European politics:
Europe grapples with its dodgy memorials, one plinth at a time (December 8)
US green subsidies cause headaches in Europe (December 1)
European politicians should steal more of their neighbors’ best ideas (24 November)