The alleged case of corruption in favor of Qatar, in which representatives of the European Parliament are involved, constitutes a “very serious attack on the reputation” of this EU institution, European Commissioner for the Economy Paolo Gentiloni said on Sunday, according to AFP. .

In this case, a Belgian judge is investigating “the payment of large sums of money or the offer of significant gifts to third parties who hold a political and/or strategic position that allows the European Parliament to influence the decisions” of this institution, the prosecutor’s office recalled on Sunday.

Six suspects were detained in Belgium on Friday, including the Greek vice-president of the European Parliament, Eva Kaili, former Italian MEP Pier Antonio Panzeri and the general secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), Luca Visentini, also an Italian.

Four of the six detained were charged and arrested on Sunday, including Kylie.

“This is a very serious attack on the reputation” of the European Parliament, a “shameful and intolerable thing,” complained Mr. Gentiloni on Rai.

“The European Parliament has always been a thorn in the side of rights, perhaps it has not been given enough powers, but it has always been a guide in terms of principles,” he noted.

“If it is confirmed that someone received money to try to influence the opinion of the European Parliament, I think it will really be one of the most dramatic cases of corruption in recent years,” added the Italian commissioner.

The wife and daughter of Pier-Antonio Panzeri were arrested in Italy on the basis of a European warrant issued by the Belgian public prosecutor’s office on suspicion that they knew of and took advantage of financial advantages or gifts received by the former MEP. They were put under house arrest.

According to Belgian court documents accompanying the European arrest warrant seen by Ansa, the Panzers are suspected of using their influence in the European Parliament “to the benefit of Qatar and Morocco.”

The scandal broke out in the middle of the WC-2022, as the host country is criticized for not respecting human rights, especially workers.

It also comes ahead of the plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, where relations between the EU and Qatar are bound to come up again in the debate.

The corruption scandal in the European Parliament is causing a debate about ethical rules in the EU legislature

A corruption scandal at the level of parliament provoked a very strong reaction in Brussels on Saturday, as elected officials and non-governmental organizations called for an urgent discussion on improving ethics rules in this main EU institution.

“This is not an isolated case,” said Transparency International. “For several decades, the parliament allowed the development of a culture of impunity (…) and a complete lack of independent ethical control.”

“This institutional control has ‘flaws,'” Alberto Alemanno, a law professor at the College of Europe in Bruges, added on Twitter.

French Socialists condemned the “very serious scandal” on Saturday, while environmentalists Michel Rivazi and David Cormand pointed to the “guilt of leniency” of some Social Democrats (S&D) during the debate on Qatar in the last plenary session.