Eva Kaili – from the model politician to the allegedly corrupt Qatar ally Erdogan announces final candidacy for 2023

She allegedly raised money to say a few good words for World Cup host country Qatar in the EU parliament: Eva Kaili. Now she is in custody. Everything went so well for the 44-year-old Greek, who was elected one of the 14 vice-presidents in the European Parliament at the beginning of this year. A look at her persona and her previous career.

The career

Eva Kaili was born on October 26, 1978 in the Greek port city of Thessaloniki. In 2004 she completed her bachelor’s degree in architecture and in the same year she started working as a presenter and journalist for MEGA TV, a private Greek channel. In addition, she added her Master’s degree in International and European Relations in 2006, which she completed in 2008. Since 2014, Kaili has been pursuing a PhD in International Economic Policy from the University of Piraeus, where she is said to have obtained her PhD, according to her website.

Her political career began long before her academic: in 1992, at the age of 14, she became a member of the PASOK youth. PASOK is the Greek social-democratic party to which Kaili belonged until recently. At the age of 24, the then architecture student was elected to the Municipal Council of Thessaloniki and at the age of 29 to the Greek Parliament.

She has been a member of the European Parliament since 2014, where she was elected one of 14 Vice-Presidents in January this year. Among other things, she was part of a delegation to develop relations between the European Union and the Arabian Peninsula.

What else does she do? Well, according to her profile on the EU Parliament site, quite a lot:

Her career has been crowned with success so far. In 2011 she was named Person of the Year by “Spiegel” and in 2018 she received an award from “Politico” as one of the most influential women in Brussels for her work in digital politics. In the same year, she received an award from Parliament Magazine in the New Technologies category for the same role. In 2020 and 2021 she was named one of the most influential MPs in the “Digital Influence Index”.

The unpopular opinion

Kaili was never really noticed negatively. Until she made a few statements about Qatar in the EU Parliament on November 21, which caused a frown in her party in particular:

Qatar is at the forefront of labor rights, Kaili said. Even European companies have tried in some cases to circumvent these labor laws, but Qatar has “voluntarily committed to a vision”. She then criticized those who called for discrimination against Qatar. About this she says:

Meanwhile, she found nothing but praise for Qatar:

Her party leader at Pasok, Nikos Androulakis, distanced himself from her statements on the same day. These would disagree with the party line.

The World Cup host has been criticized for years for its human rights record and conditions for foreign workers. Numerous members of the then FIFA executive committee, which awarded the 2010 World Cup to Qatar, have now been convicted of corruption. However, Qatar itself has always denied allegations of bribery. In turn, the European Parliament’s domestic committee voted in early December to ease visa rules for Qatar and other countries.

Although Kaili herself is not a member of the committee, she also voted – to the surprise of her own group. According to parliamentary rules, it is possible for MPs to be replaced by non-members in votes. However, SPD deputy parliament Katarina Barley told ZDF-Today: “She (Kaili) has been sitting all the way in the back, where normally only employees sit – far away from our group. You could also say: she is hiding.” However, the last word on visa liberalization has not yet been spoken. Parliament still has to negotiate this with the EU countries. Green MP Erik Marquardt, who is responsible for the issue in parliament, has already made it clear that visa liberalization cannot take place in the current situation.

The allegations

On Friday night, Kaili’s good image began to crumble: Belgian police arrested Kaili and five other people – just on World Day against Corruption. That is exactly what they are accused of: corruption. But that’s not all: they are also accused of money laundering, involvement in a criminal organization and attempted influence from abroad. Suddenly, Kaili’s positive statements about Qatar appear in a new light.

The police action was the result of months of research that began in mid-July. That says journalist Louis Kolar of the Belgian “Le Soir”, who revealed the story on Friday. He himself received a tip in mid-September and has been working on journalistic investigations ever since, he tells the Greek newspaper Kathimerini.

During house searches in Brussels, a total of 600,000 euros in cash and mobile phones were seized on Friday. According to media reports, detectives later found bags full of cash in Kaili’s apartment. The newspaper “Le Soir” wrote that the 44-year-old was caught in the act. Her father would also have been involved. He left a hotel not far from Kaili’s house with suitcases full of money after being warned about the investigation by accomplices.

According to the prosecutor’s office, Belgian investigators have suspected for several months that a Gulf state “influences the economic and political decisions of the European Parliament”. Large sums of money were said to have been paid or expensive gifts made to decision-makers in parliament. Investigators confirmed to the German news agency that the Gulf state is Qatar.

The consequences

The social democrat was arrested along with five other suspects. Four of them were taken into custody on Sunday under an arrest warrant, including Eva Kaili.

A former Social Democratic MEP from Italy, Antonio Panzeri, and Kaili’s Italian partner were also arrested. As the newspaper “Le Soir” and the magazine “Knack” reported on Sunday, both were also in custody. “They are charged with involvement in a criminal organization, money laundering and corruption,” prosecutors said. The examining magistrate has released two other detained persons. Another MEP’s house was searched on Saturday evening. According to media reports, it concerns the Belgian social democrat Marc Tarabella. His party announced on Sunday evening that it had quoted Tarabella for an internal party committee.

In response to the allegations of corruption, parliament speaker Roberta Metsola stripped the 44-year-old Greek of all powers, duties and duties associated with the office. This afternoon the group chairmen will discuss how to proceed. A final ouster of Kail could be formally decided next week.

As it became known today, Greece has also frozen all assets of Eva Kailis. The assets of her parents, her sister and her life partner would also have been affected. It should be checked whether they come from illegal activities. Accounts, real estate, business investments and similar assets would be examined. Among other things, a real estate company that Kaili and her husband allegedly founded a month ago is being investigated.

Meanwhile, her office is also under investigation:

Brussels shocked

The allegations shocked the political establishment in Brussels. In the EU capital, where laws are made for some 450 million Europeans, lobbying is part of it. According to the Lobbycontrol association, there are about 25,000 lobbyists in the city. They all try to influence political decisions. But this case is different.

The revelations mean great damage to the image of parliament. It is clear that Kaili is putting voters’ confidence on the line, SPD members’ chairman Jens Geier said to the dpa. “These are serious allegations and they need to be clarified. There is no other way to regain lost confidence.”

EU Commissioner Ursula von der Leyen was appalled by the corruption scandal. “The allegations against the Vice-President of the European Parliament are very serious,” the German said in Brussels on Monday. We know that this is a major concern in terms of people’s trust in the European institutions. “We need the highest standards,” emphasizes von der Leyen.

“In my opinion, it would be right for us to establish an ethics committee,” she continued. The European Commission already has such a body. “But it is important to me that we have clear rules and standards with all other European institutions, that we all have the same control mechanisms.”

The parliament, with more than 700 members, likes to position itself as a strong voice in the fight against corruption. MEPs regularly call for a crackdown on the EU country because of widespread corruption in Hungary. The malice from Budapest was not long in coming. There was much ridicule from the government. (saw, with material from the sda ​​and dpa news agencies)