What is known about the corruption scandal in the European Parliament?

The charges are allegedly linked to a bribery-sponsored campaign by Qatar, a state in which the World Cup is currently running the football championship.

British broadcaster The BBC has reported that prosecutors suspect that “this Gulf state has influenced the European Parliament's political and economic decisions for many months”.

What has the police discovered so far?

Much cash, nearly 1.5m euros. So far it is known that in a hotel room in Brussels, several suitcases filled with money have been found, then about 600,000 euros in a private residence and about 150,000 euros in a residence used by Kyle, despite her lawyer as Qatar himself have denied any wrongdoing.

And there could be more. Another raid has been conducted on 12 December in several European Parliament offices and several other private residences. The technological equipment of 10 people working in Parliament has been confiscated under this action.

On December 14th, all four officials will appear before the court in Brussels.

They are: Kyle, who has protected Qatar several times publicly, her partner, Francesco Giorgi, who is also a parliamentary assistant, former Italian delegation Pierre Antonio Panzer, who heads the nongovernmental organisation, fights impunity and an unidentified Kalil adviser.

Two other people have been arrested for the case, but later have been released.

Are more people involved?

Depends on who you ask. Currently, there appear to be two sets of positions when it comes to members of the European Parliament. The first group believes that this scandal represents only the tip of the iceberg and that more people will be involved in the future. The second group seems convinced that the worst has passed and that the <x0-edge black” has been captured.

Despite that, the impact is being noted within the Socialist and Democrats Parliamentary Group, which belongs to Kyle.

Many members of the group, which are not directly involved but are related to the accused quartet, have resigned from leadership positions on certain committees or removed their names from reports expected to be published.

However, the scandal appears to be expanding beyond the European Parliament and the political left. Although no official charges still exist, Margaritis Schinas, former European Commission spokeswoman for the European Union executive body has been linked to this scandal in the media.

As the right-wing politician and responsible for migration issues and rule of law in the European Commission, he has attended the World Cup opening ceremony in Qatar. Despite criticism of Qatar for corruption and abuse of construction workers, Schinas has publicly praised this Gulf state and called for visa liberalisation for citizens of this state.

How has the European Parliament responded?

In addition to co-operating with Belgian criminal investigations, the European Parliament has launched its investigations.

Part of this body are 705 people who are directly elected by voters from 27 member states.

The vote for visa liberalisation for Qatar, which has been in order for this week, has been suspended.

The group of Socialists and Democrats has ruled Kyle out, and MPs are expected to withdraw the presidential status.

However, according to parliamentary rules, they cannot completely exclude him from Parliament.

One such thing belongs to Greece, a state that has already frozen Kyle's assets.

But the damage to the image has already been done. Even in the best of times, deputies with good wages, benefits, and many other priorities have not been very popular with Europeans, especially Eurosceptics.

One of the biggest critics of the European Parliament, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, has been unable to hide his resentment, especially in the fact that it has been the same parliamentary composition that has activated the seventh Article against Budapest in 2018 due to concerns of rule of law in this state.

Finalisation of such a process could have lost Hungary rights in the European Council, an important body that “defines the overall political direction and priorities of the European Union”.

How could this happen?

Make no mistake, Brussels is paradise for lobbyists.

Only a few miles away are thousands of more influential lawmakers, diplomats, and bureaucratics operating in the shadows.

Although there is an EU Reformer for Transparency, it is used on voluntary grounds very easily.

According to the registry, states do not need to share the details of their meetings, based on some nearby sources with this instrument, it is also very easy to hide how much a lobbyist pays his client.

Furthermore, there are no ethics supervisory bodies in Brussels, and the European Parliament has no concrete protection for internal informants. Brussels is known for “the rotating”, as former politicians can work for companies of states and other interests after they complete their political mandate.

Although such a scale scandal is rare, other types of influential “tactics are quite common in Brussels, as is sending invitations to MPs on different holidays.

Why is the European Parliament targeted?

This question has left people in Brussels a little confused, especially because the European Parliament is not a strong player in foreign policy.

Reports and resolutions adopting regarding international issues are not legally binding, and when it has to vote for something like visa liberalisation, Parliament itself rarely votes against.

For a foreign power of harmful influence, the European Commission would have to be a better target, considering that members of this institution initiated laws.

Similar to power is the European Council, as most important decisions in Brussels are taken within its walls.

Therefore, either Doha is ill-advised for the way the EU capital works, or Qatar lobby is so extensive that violations within the European Parliament are only a fraction of what is now unknown. /Rel