Former European Parliament Vice President Eva Kayley, who was arrested on suspicion of corruption related to Qatar, voted in favor of liberalizing visas for citizens of that country in a parliamentary committee of which she was not a member.
On December 1, ahead of the public revelations of the scandal now known as “Catargate,” the European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (EP) voted to liberalize visas for citizens of this Gulf state.
Citing Spanish news agency EFE, sources from the Parliamentary Group of Socialists and Democrats (S&D) – to which the Greek MEP is a member – said Eva Kaili, had been removed from the position of Vice-President of the European Parliament after revelations of alleged bribery. Scheme, he voted in favor of liberalizing visas for Qatari citizens in that parliamentary committee to which he does not belong.
At the time, Cayley was “neither a member nor a substitute for that parliamentary committee,” but the document on the vote result, which can be consulted on the European Parliament’s website, shows that the Greek politician “voted for visa liberalization,” the same sources pointed out.
The sources also said that Kylie appeared in the parliamentary committee on the day of the vote “without prior notice” and “without appearing on the list of MPs” who will vote on visa liberalization on December 1.
Quoting the EFE, the sources, who were not identified, acknowledged that this was “extremely unusual and erratic” behavior.
“In addition, he sat on a bench at the back of the room and did not sit where the S&D delegation was,” the sources noted.
The sources stated that the information will be conveyed to the leadership of the political group the day after the vote and the start of a disciplinary process.
As for the EFE, the sources indicated that the head of the S&D group, Spanish deputy Iratxe García Pérez, had already scheduled a meeting with Kaili to discuss this “irregular behaviour”, also noting that the authority had requested that the report on visa liberalization be forwarded back to the committee instead of Proceed to vote in plenary.
Along with Eva Kaili, the partner of the Greek deputy and advisor, the Italian Francesco Giorgi, the former member of the European Parliament Pierre Antonio Panzieri, the lobbyist and the director of the Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), also detained within the framework of ‘Qatargate no peace no justice’, Nicolò Vega Talamanca, also Italian.
And all of them are accused within the scope of the investigation, which is still ongoing and is being conducted by the Belgian authorities, of participating in a criminal organization, money laundering and corruption, of defending the interests of Qatar in European institutions (the host of the 2022 edition of the FIFA World Cup), which has already denied its involvement in corruption attempts.
On Thursday, Parliament approved a decision to suspend all legislative files related to the State of Qatar, and proposes to prevent representatives of the interests of this country from entering the institution’s buildings.
Exemption of Qatari citizens from visas is one of the files pending under the decision, as are all visits of members of the European Parliament to the country.
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