Eva Kaili, the former Vice-President of the European Parliament, who remains at the center of the “Qatargate” scandal commented on the Mogherini case saying that “Belgium is not a safe place for politicians.”
Speaking from Abu Dhabi in an interview with Italian newspaper La Stampa, Eva Kaili commented on the fraud case that has caused turmoil in Brussels since Tuesday evening and in which former European Commission Vice-President Federica Mogherini is involved and detained by the Belgian authorities.
Kaili expressed her concern about Mogherini’s detention conditions, arguing that “Belgium is not a safe place” for politicians and, as she said, not for Italians either.
Referring to the basis of the investigation, Kaili noted that “there is an investigation that is based solely on assumptions” and stressed the need to redefine “what politics is, what corruption is, what lobbying is.”
Kaili: “Shocking” but not surprised
She said she was “shocked” but not particularly surprised by the investigation into whether the awarding of a public contract by the European External Action Service to an educational institution, to host the EU Diplomatic Academy, was a sham and favored the College of Europe, where Mogherini is the rector.
Mogherini and Stefano Sannino, the former head of the service, were temporarily detained for questioning before being released yesterday morning.
Kaili described the investigation as “an operation targeting Italy”, arguing that such cases destroy political careers before anything is proven and that they pose a threat to the rule of law.
She linked the fraud case to Qatargate, arguing that it is like a “sequel”, drawing analogies between her own experience and Mogherini’s brief detention. She reiterated that Qatargate had been misinterpreted from the start, as what prosecutors considered illegal foreign influence was in fact routine parliamentary diplomacy supported by privately funded NGOs.
She also stressed that almost three years later, no formal charges have been brought against her and that much of the evidence remains “largely” insufficient.
Correction: Not safe for CORRUPT politicians. As it should be.
It is no coincidence that she comments from Abu Dhabi.