Deputy Speaker Kylie: MPs removed as Deputy Speaker of Parliament due to corruption allegations.

DEva Kaili, an MEP arrested on corruption charges, has been suspended from her post as Vice-President of the European Parliament. Parliament Speaker Roberta Metsola has revoked the 44-year-old’s position as his deputy “with immediate effect,” Metsola’s spokesman announced Saturday evening.

Kylie and four other suspects were arrested in Brussels on Friday as part of investigations into alleged corruption in the European Parliament. The Greek was already expelled from his party, the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (Pasok), on Friday evening. Now the investigating officers are interrogating her.

Groups in the EU Parliament want to postpone negotiations on visa facilitation

Several factions of the European Union parliament want to halt planned talks on visa facilitation for citizens of the Gulf emirates after five people were arrested on corruption charges related to World Cup host Qatar. “We in the Green Party are against visa facilitation for Qatar in the current situation,” Greens MEP Eric Marquardt told the AFP news agency on Saturday.

The start of negotiations between parliament and member states on visa facilitation for Qatar and Kuwait was to be formally announced in the EU Parliament on Monday. Citizens from Qatar and Kuwait will be able to stay in the EU for up to 90 days without a visa, the parliamentary committee and member states have already voiced.

Marquardt, who is responsible for the bill in parliament, said he wanted to suspend the start of negotiations until more information was known about the alleged corruption, and thus the possibility of visa facilitation. “You have to ensure that there is no interference from members of parliament or staff in the EU Parliament’s draft text on visa facilitation for Qatar,” Marquardt said.

The Left Group and the Social Democrats also later called for talks. “As long as there is no clarity on the extent to which Qatari money has flowed, Qatar should not have visa facilities,” Martin Shirdewan, co-chair of the left-wing group in the EU parliament, told AFP. news agency.

In a press release on Friday, the Social Democratic Party called for “the suspension of all documents and plenary votes related to the Gulf countries, especially those related to visa facilitation and planned visits.”

During the raids, among other things, 600,000 euros were confiscated

Police said they were investigating a suspected criminal organization and allegations of corruption and money laundering. For months, there have been suspicions that the Gulf state is trying to influence the EU Parliament’s political and economic decisions.

Substantial sums of money or gifts are said to have been distributed to people holding political or strategic positions in Parliament. According to Belgian prosecutors, 16 searches and five arrests were made in the case on Friday.

The prosecutor’s office did not say which Gulf country was trying to influence parliament. According to research by “Le Soir” newspaper and “Knack” magazine, it is the Emirate of Qatar.

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On November 21, Greece’s Kyli gave a speech in the European Parliament about the World Cup in Qatar. In it, he described the sporting event as “proof that sports diplomacy can bring about historic change in a country whose reforms have inspired the Arab world.” For example, Qatar has played a pioneering role in labor rights.

Party leader Nikos Androlakis announced on Friday that Kailey had been removed from the party. He has been an MEP since 2014 and one of the 14 Deputy Speakers of Parliament since 2022. From 2004 to 2007, according to his CV on the parliament’s website, he was a newsreader and journalist, then a PR consultant in Greece.

Belgian police have been suspected for months of trying to influence the political and economic decisions of the European Parliament by a Gulf state, according to the public prosecutor’s office. Substantial sums of money or gifts are said to have been distributed to people holding political or strategic positions in Parliament.

Among the respondents was a former MP. The public prosecutor’s office said 600,000 euros in cash and mobile phones were seized during the raids.

Money should not play a role in decisions in Europe’s largest parliament

A spokeswoman for the European Parliament, when contacted, said it had no comment on ongoing investigations. However, one will fully cooperate with the responsible authorities.

A similar statement was issued by the Social Democratic Group in Parliament. No tolerance for party corruption. At the same time, parliamentary work on all issues affecting the Gulf states and full referendums on them should be suspended.

EU Vice President Katarina Barley (SPD) has called for the resignation of her arrested colleague Eva Kylie after corruption allegations surfaced in the EU Parliament. “The political prosecutor’s hearings are always the point where you say, as a politician, you can no longer represent a company,” Farley said on ARD on Saturday. “Therefore, we expect him to resign of his own volition.” Farley and Kylie are both members of the Socialist Group in the European Parliament.

The FDP’s Barley representative, Nicola Beer, also expressed anger at the accusations against several suspects in relation to World Cup host Qatar. “We represent the people of Europe,” Beer told ARD. “We are the cradle of democracy, we represent the values ​​of Europe and that should be indisputable.”

Daniel Freund, co-chair of Parliament’s anti-corruption task force, was also shocked by the investigation. “The allegations must be fully clarified,” the green politician said. Money should not play a role in decisions in Europe’s largest parliament. There has been a huge loss of confidence.

The Justice Department wants to decide on the arrest warrant on Sunday

It will be decided on Sunday whether the Greek politician and four other suspects will remain in jail. A spokesman for the public prosecutor’s office told the German Press Agency in Brussels that possible arrest warrants would be decided later.

According to dpa information, this includes an associate of Greek MEPs who serves in parliament as an adviser on foreign policy and human rights. Additionally, according to the Public Prosecutor’s Office, among those arrested was a former MP. According to media reports, all the suspects except Kylie have Italian citizenship or are of Italian descent.

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