WEB DESK
A Vice President of the European Union’s Parliament has been suspended from her duties after being caught up in an investigation into influence peddling at the EU assembly allegedly involving officials from Qatar. Forty-four-year-old Eva Kaili, who is a Greek former TV news anchor, was suspended by her party in Greece and the EU assembly’s Socialists and Democrats group. This development comes after Belgian police staged 16 raids across Brussels as part of a probe into corruption and money laundering at the parliament. Four people were detained for questioning, and investigators recovered around six lakh 33 thousand dollars in cash and seized computer equipment and mobile telephones. Prosecutors did not identify the four but at least one was an EU lawmaker and one was a former member. Authorities have not identified the Gulf country suspected of offering cash or gifts to officials at the parliament in exchange for political favors, but several members have linked the investigation to Qatar.
Parliament President Roberta Metsola “has decided to suspend with immediate effect all powers, duties, and tasks that were delegated to Eva Kaili in her capacity as vice president of the European Parliament,” Metsola’s spokesman said yesterday.
The EU assembly is set to hold its last plenary session of the year in Strasbourg, France, beginning tomorrow.