The EU establishment has very effectively swept the corruption scandal in the European Parliament under the carpet – said the British sociologist and head of the Brussels think tank MCC in an interview with PAP on the anniversary of the Qatargate scandal. Frank Furedi.
Saturday, December 9, marks one year since the Qatargate corruption scandal. What has happened since then? The Vice-President of the European Parliament, Eva Kaili, who was involved in the scandal, is still a Member of the European Parliament. The MEPs involved in Katargate also returned to work in the EP. Many non-governmental organizations have publicly opposed new proposals regarding the transparency of their contacts, activities and funding
– remembers Frank Furedi.
““Great work by the Eurocrats.”
As the year draws to a close, one might even wonder if Qatargate even happened? – ironizes the sociologist.
The Eurocrats have done a ‘great’ job sweeping this high-level corruption case under the carpet. It is clear that the EU establishment is determined to ensure that the rhetoric of transparency remains just rhetoric and that non-governmental organizations are not subject to full public scrutiny.
– Furedi diagnoses.
As noted, the European Commission has proposed new regulations regarding the transparency of the activities of non-governmental organizations and their financing.
However, many NGOs publicly opposed it, and their left-wing allies repeatedly called it a witch hunt. This was compared to the US Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) and similar laws in countries such as Georgia, which the EU condemned
– emphasizes Frank Furedi.
The scandal in a nutshell
In December 2022, police launched a series of raids on properties and offices across Brussels, arresting key suspects and seizing bags of cash in one of the largest corruption investigations to ever hit the European Union.
The common thread in the investigation concerns people linked to the European Parliament who allegedly accepted money or gifts in exchange for carrying out Qatar’s orders. It later turned out that Morocco and Mauritania could also use the ‘cash for influence in Parliament’ scheme.
The list of those involved in the scandal included former and current Members of the European Parliament, as well as non-governmental organizations accused of brokering the transfer of funds.
Frank Furedi is a British sociologist of Hungarian descent. After the 1956 uprising, he emigrated to the West with his parents. He is emeritus professor at the University of Kent and director of the Brussels think tank MCC. His book entitled “Where Have All the Intellectuals Gone?”, in which he claims that serious intellectuals have now been replaced by “easily digestible gurus” and that the state of contemporary thinking has become more superficial.
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– ONLY HERE. Qatar Gate. Waszczykowski: Fighting corruption will be a Sisyphean task. We are dealing with massive conspiracy here
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Source: wPolityce