Police launched a fresh wave of raids on political figures in Brussels over alleged corruption involving Qatari interests Monday, in a scandal that threatens to trash European Union democracy.
“The European Parliament,” said its president, Roberta Metsola, at a session in Strasbourg on Monday, “is under attack.”
The focal point for that attack, for now, is the Parliament’s Socialists and Democrats (S&D) group. In Brussels, police raided the parliamentary office of Greek MEP Eva Kaili, who is currently in a jail cell as she awaits a court appearance, slated for Wednesday.
Meanwhile, her colleagues in Strasbourg expelled her from the S&D group as her MEP colleagues prepared to strip her of her vice president title.
Several other S&D members — not directly implicated but under scrutiny for their connections to those charged and their advocacy on behalf of Qatar — also agreed to step away from key assignments, including MEP Marie Arena as chair of the Parliament’s human rights subcommittee.
