European parliament sacks vice-president Eva Kaili after Qatar corruption probe arrest
- Organisation’s motion backed by 625 lawmakers; Kaili among four arrested amid accusations World Cup host Qatar gave them cash and gifts to influence decisions,
- Case, in which police uncovered bundles of cash, casts shadow over institution which seeks to be a moral compass; Kaili’s lawyer says she denies the charges
Members of the European Parliament have voted overwhelmingly in favour of removing Eva Kaili from her position as a vice-president after she was implicated in a corruption scandal that has rattled the EU institution.
The motion was backed by 625 EU lawmakers. One voted against it. “This decision is effective immediately,” European Parliament President Roberta Metsola wrote on Twitter following the vote on Tuesday.
“We will continue to fully cooperate with relevant national law enforcement and judicial authorities,” she wrote.
The heads of all political groups earlier launched the procedure in Strasbourg, France, to oust Kaili, 44, from her senior post after she and others faced charges that World Cup host Qatar lavished them with cash and gifts to influence decisions, charges she has denied.
Kaili, a Greek politician and one of 14 vice presidents in the parliament, was among four people arrested in Belgium at the weekend over the scandal that has triggered outrage in Brussels and risks denting the EU’s image at home and abroad.
The case, in which police uncovered bundles of cash, some of it in a suitcase in a hotel, casts a shadow over the European Parliament which seeks to be a moral compass in Brussels, taking EU governments to task and criticising global rights abuses.
