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Brussels, Dec. 13 (PTI/AP): The European Union's parliament was reeling on Tuesday, it's credibility under threat, as a corruption and bribery scandal damaged lawmakers' careers and fingers pointed at Qatari officials accused of seeking to play down labour rights concerns ahead of the soccer World Cup.
The scandal, which started unfolding publicly last week, has scarred the reputation of the EU's only institution comprised of officials elected directly in the 27 member countries. It has undermined the assembly's claim to the moral high ground in its own investigations, such as into allegations of corruption in member country Hungary.
"It is so profound because it jars so fundamentally with what parliament pretends to stand for," Ghent University Professor Hendrik Vos, an EU expert, told The Associated Press. "The parliament pretends to stand for transparency, unable to be bribed, to defend fundamental values. And then then you get something like this."
Referring to her barely suppressed "fury, my anger, my sorrow," Parliament President Roberta Metsola told EU lawmakers on Monday that "European democracy is under attack." While they convened in in Strasbourg, France, Belgian police picked up a haul of computer data from the assembly's other seat in Brussels.
The parliament, however, has always been a ripe target for people seeking funds or favours or to influence policy, from tobacco lobbyists and auto industry representatives to officials from national governments. The difference this time is that Belgian prosecutors found out.
Police have now conducted more than 20 raids, mostly in Belgium but also in Italy, as part of a probe into bribery for political favours. Prosecutors suspect that people "in political and/or strategic positions within the European Parliament were paid large sums of money or offered substantial gifts to influence Parliament's decisions".
The scandal has rocked the Socialists and Democrats (S&D) group in the Parliament. The group brings together centre-left parties from across Europe. It remains the second-largest group in the 705-seat assembly but lost more than 30 seats in the last election as public support waned.
Prosecutors have charged four people, who have not been identified, with corruption, participation in a criminal group and money laundering. Parliament Vice President Eva Kaili of Greece was suspended, and senior lawmakers are set Tuesday to terminate her term in office.
Kaili, a 44-year-old Greek former TV presenter, is from the S&D. Belgian EU lawmaker Marc Tarabella suspended himself as a group member on Monday, suggesting he might be among those charged. Three other S&D lawmakers temporarily stood down from senior duties within the group, apparently because their parliamentary assistants were implicated.
Belgian authorities have not identified the Gulf country suspected of offering cash or gifts to officials at the parliament, but several members of the assembly and some Belgian media have linked the investigation to Qatar.
"Qatar has bought the votes of this assembly in order to cover up the exploitation and death of migrant workers on the World Cup infrastructures," Manon Aubry, co-chair of the Left group, said Monday. "I really want to send a very clear message to Qatar. You cannot buy MEPs like you can buy football clubs."
Qatar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said that the allegations are "baseless and gravely misinformed".
Arguably, Qatar has received some favourable reviews in Europe this year, but allegations that European officials were paid off to provide them would be hard to establish. Belgian authorities have seized hundreds of thousands of euros seized at homes and found in a suitcase in a Brussels hotel during the raids.
Senior members of the EU's executive branch, the European Commission, have praised the labour reforms Qatar made ahead of the World Cup. In April, the commission also began a drive to provide visa-free travel for Qataris holding biometric passports who want to come to Europe for short stays, although the parliament has shelved its role in that process in light of the investigation.
But as Russia's war in Ukraine hits energy supplies in Europe, member countries are also desperate to find more reliable suppliers to help slash high energy prices for consumers. Qatar is seen as one of those. Two weeks ago, Germany signed a massive contract for Qatari liquefied natural gas.
For Olivier Hoedeman, a coordinator for lobbying watchdog Corporate Europe Observatory, the scandal is more about long-known shortcomings at the parliament.
"This horrific unfolding bribery scandal is a product of years of negligence which have come back to haunt EU institutions," he said. "Earlier this year a ban was imposed on dodgy Russian lobbyists way too late. Today, Qatar is in focus. These are both wake-up calls. It's not good enough to take reactive measures after yet another scandal."