London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Jul 10, 2025

Europe’s conservatives go on the attack over Qatargate — but speak too soon

Europe’s conservatives go on the attack over Qatargate — but speak too soon

After days of holding fire, the center-right group took aim at its socialist rival.

In politics, timing is everything.

After days of holding fire over the corruption scandal that has engulfed the European Parliament this week, the center-right European People’s Party went on the offensive on Thursday, attacking the rival Socialists and Democrats for being the main players in the crisis. The EPP slammed the S&D for “hypocrisy” and a “holier-than-thou” attitude.

But they spoke too soon. Within hours, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) announced it was probing two MEPs — not just Greek MEP Eva Kaili, a former member of the socialist group, but also Maria Spyraki, another Greek MEP and member of the EPP.

There is no indication that the EPPO probe is connected to the alleged payments to MEPs by foreign countries, including Qatar and Morocco, but the timing still stings, and undermines attempts to portray malpractice as an S&D preserve.

The announcement that the EU’s top prosecutor is seeking to lift the immunity of Spyraki — a former “MEP of the Year” — has shown that no political group is immune when it comes to investigations into the conduct of parliamentarians, and confirms that yet another probe is underway.

Since the raids by Belgian police last weekend, the crisis rocking the EU had only centered on the S&D — headed by Spanish MEP Iratxe García Pérez. Center stage is Kaili, a (now expelled) member of Greek left-wing party Pasok and one of the most senior members of the group, who was detained by Belgian police last week on corruption charges.

But the S&D’s involvement doesn’t stop there. Kaili’s partner Francesco Giorgi, an adviser on the Middle East and North Africa to Andrea Cozzolino, another Socialist MEP, has been charged. The Italian was previously an assistant to Pier Antonio Panzeri, a former S&D MEP, now also in jail.

Several other officials connected to the S&D have been embroiled in the saga — the offices of an aide to Marie Arena, the chair of the Parliament’s subcommittee on human rights, and an aide to Pietro Bartolo, an Italian socialist MEP and vice-chair of the civil liberties committee, were raided.

The S&D group made some personnel changes on Monday — Arena stepped aside temporarily as chair of the committee, while Bartolo halted his involvement in legislation on visa-free travel for Qatar. But that did not satisfy the EPP, which on Thursday called for Arena to go permanently.
“It is … the responsibility and duty of the S&

D Chairwoman of DROI [human rights subcommittee] to protect the image and the credibility of the Subcommittee and that of the Parliament,” senior EPP officials said in a letter to European Parliament President Roberta Metsola.

Since the scandal broke last week, the EPP has refrained from attacking the Socialists, but in recent days there have been growing calls from within the party to capitalize on the scandal. On Thursday it seized the moment, issuing a string of hard-hitting social media posts calling out its rival group.

But the naming of one of its own by the EPPO has flipped the attention back on the center-right camp.


Ironically, the change in tack by the EPP was instigated in part by a pre-summit EPP meeting this morning during which Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis urged colleagues to take a tough line on the S&D.

The Greek prime minister has had more skin in the game than most since the scandal erupted — Kaili, the MEP at the center of the scandal, hails from the opposition Pasok party; whose leader Greek officials admitted they wiretapped earlier this year in a scandal that made international headlines. He urged colleagues to hold the opposition parties to account.

Hours later, one of his own MEPs was named by the EPPO relating to an investigation by OLAF, the EU’s anti-fraud office, regarding fraud related to the EU budget, specifically in relation to the management of the parliamentary allowance. Spyraki, who was previously spokesperson for Mitsotakis’ New Democracy party, said in a statement she had “no connection to Qatargate.”

The ill-timed move to take a more hard-hitting move against the S&D was also backed by German MEP and EPP heavyweight Manfred Weber, the head of the EPP in Parliament — a far cry from his speech on Monday in the European Parliament when he urged MEPs not to use the crisis for “party political battles.”

“The corruption charges against one of our highest representatives of this European Parliament has significantly damaged our institution and affected the trust of people in the European Union as a whole,” he told a plenary session of the Parliament. “The damage to European democracy is too big to be now used for party political battles.”

Politicizing the Parliament’s current woes was always going to be a risky move for the EPP, however. Already, the activities of one of its members, Czech MEP Tomáš Zdechovský, who heads the Parliament’s friendship with Bahrain, have come under scrutiny. Zdechovský visited Bahrain on a previously undisclosed trip in April this year, but he told POLITICO he paid for the trip personally.

“According to the EP rules, MEPs are not obliged to declare trips that are not paid for by third parties. This trip was this case,” he said. “However, having in mind the current situation and allegations that I am facing, I decided to declare this visit as well. It is unnecessary, but as I have nothing to hide, I would like to be as transparent as possible.”

There were mixed feelings about the shift in strategy from EPP members POLITICO spoke to Thursday.

One MEP said it was risky. “There is absolutely no guarantee that this scandal stops here,” the parliamentarian said, warning that it was impossible to know if all EPP members were clean.

But others were strongly in favor. “I think many people see this as an S&D problem, which it is,” said another. “It’s time to call it for what it is.”

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
NVIDIA Achieves Historic Milestone as First Company Valued at $4 Trillion
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Linda Yaccarino Steps Down as CEO of X After Two Years
US Imposes New Tariffs on Brazilian Exports Amid Political Tensions
Azerbaijan and Armenia are on the brink of a historic peace deal.
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Weinstein Victim’s Lawyer Says MeToo Movement Still Strong
U.S. Enacts Sweeping Tax and Spending Legislation Amid Trade Policy Shifts
Football Mourns as Diogo Jota and Brother André Silva Laid to Rest in Portugal
Labour Expected to Withdraw Support for Special Needs Funding Model
Leaked Audio Reveals Tory Aide Defending DEI Record
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
London Stock Exchange Faces Historic Low in Initial Public Offerings
A new online platform has emerged in the United Kingdom, specifically targeting Muslim men seeking virgin brides
Trump Celebrates Independence Day with B-2 Flyover and Signs Controversial Legislation
Boris Johnson Urges Conservatives to Ignore Farage
SNP Ordered to Update Single-Sex Space Guidance Within Days
Starmer Set to Reject Calls for Wealth Taxes
Stolen Century-Old Rolls-Royce Recovered After Hotel Theft
Macron Presses Starmer to Recognise Palestinian State
Labour Delayed Palestine Action Ban Over Riot Concerns
Swinney’s Tax Comments ‘Offensive to Scots’, Say Tories
High Street Retailers to Enforce Bans on Serial Shoplifters
Music Banned by Henry VIII to Be Performed After 500 Years
Steve Coogan Says Working Class Is Being ‘Ethnically Cleansed’
Home Office Admits Uncertainty Over Visa Overstayer Numbers
JD Vance Questions Mandelson Over Reform Party’s Rising Popularity
Macron to Receive Windsor Carriage Ride in Royal Gesture
Labour Accused of ‘Hammering’ Scots During First Year in Power
BBC Head of Music Stood Down Amid Bob Vylan Controversy
Corbyn Eyes Hard-Left Challenge to Starmer’s Leadership
London Tube Trains Suspended After Major Fire Erupts Nearby
Richard Kemp: I Felt Safer in Israel Under Attack Than in the UK
Cyclist Says Police Cited Human Rights Act for Riding No-Handed
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Musk Battles to Protect Tesla Amid Trump Policy Threats
Air France-KLM Acquires Majority Stake in Scandinavian Airlines
UK Educators Sound Alarm on Declining Child Literacy
Shein Fined €40 Million in France Over Misleading Discounts
Brazil’s Lula Visits Kirchner During Argentina House Arrest
Trump Scores Legislative Win as House Passes Tax Reform Bill
Keir Starmer Faces Criticism After Rocky First Year in Power
DJI Launches Heavy-Duty Coaxial Quadcopter with 80 kg Lift Capacity
U.S. Senate Approves Major Legislation Dubbed the 'Big Beautiful Bill'
Largest Healthcare Fraud Takedown in U.S. History Announced by DOJ
×