World

Socialist MEPs step down from key roles as corruption scandal widens

Published

2 years ago

December 13, 2022

Socialist MEPs step down from key roles as corruption scandal widens

The socialist group within the European Parliament has requested a number of of its members to step down from key posts and legislative recordsdata because the graft scandal involving one among its most well-known colleagues, Eva Kaili, continues to widen and ship shockwaves via Brussels.

The Socialists & Democrats (S&D), the second largest formation within the hemicycle, has come beneath intense scrutiny after Kaili was arrested on suspicion of illicit lobbying in favour of a Persian Gulf state, believed to be Qatar, the controversial host of the 2022 FIFA Males’s World Cup.

Kaili was later stripped of her position as one of many parliament’s vice presidents.

The transfer follows a brand new replace by the Belgian federal prosecutor, who in a press launch mentioned the IT assets of ten parliamentary had been “frozen” to forestall the disappearance of information. A complete of 20 searches have been carried out since Friday, with greater than €750,000 seized.

4 folks, together with Kaili, stay in custody and can seem earlier than a pre-trial listening to on Wednesday.

“My group and myself are shocked by this corruption case,” S&D President Iratxe García Pérez advised reporters on Tuesday morning. “I need to make it clear that our dedication to transparency is, has been and can all the time be absolute.”

García expressed her “disappointment” and mentioned her major concern was to guard the Parliament’s credibility, which, she mentioned, should not be “tarnished” by the revelations.

“We’ve determined that the MEPs who’re being investigated or these whose assistants are being investigated by legislation enforcement relinquish any place of duty that they train within the Parliament and within the S&D group as lengthy proceedings are ongoing,” García mentioned.

4 S&D members relinquish duties

On prime of Kaili, whose membership was suspended over the weekend, a further 4 MEPs have taken a step again whereas the investigation is ongoing, a spokesperson advised Euronews.

None of them has thus far been arrested or charged.

Marc Tarabella (Belgium) has been suspended from the S&D group.
Maria Area (Belgium) has stepped down as chair of the subcommittee on human rights.
Pietro Bartolo (Italy) has stepped down as shadow rapporteur for the legislative file on visa liberalisation for Qatar and Kuwait.
Andrea Cozzolino (Italy) has stepped down as S&D coordinator.

It’s unclear what number of of those MEPs took the choice on their very own phrases or had been requested to step apart by the S&D management. Euronews has reached out to all of them asking for remark.

Maria Area denied any “particular relation” with the Qatari authorities and mentioned her elimination as subcommittee chair pertains to one among her assistants, who way back labored for the NGO Struggle Impunity, an organisation concerned within the corruption scandal.

The president and founding father of Struggle Impunity, former S&D MEP Pier Antonio Panzeri, was a kind of arrested alongside Kaili. The organisation doesn’t seem beneath the EU’s transparency registry.

“It is a private determination within the curiosity of the work of the fee,” Area advised Euronews.

“Quickly, I cannot chair the sub-committee till the investigation clarifies the place of my assistant who, I remind you, is just involved by this case by the actual fact she carried out a consultancy for the NGO Struggle Impunity as an impartial professional specialist in governance points in Africa and, at the moment, she was not my assistant.”

The workplaces of Tarabella, Bartolo and Cozzolino didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.

Struggle Impunity didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.

‘People who broke the foundations’

As new twists and turns emerge within the ever-evolving story, the earlier actions of sure MEPs are being perceived in a distinct mild.

Simply final month, Marc Tarabella delivered a speech defending Qatar’s labour reforms within the context of the World Cup, utilizing comparable arguments that these voiced by Kaili herself throughout the identical plenary session.

“A lot progress stays to be made, however (Qatar) remains to be the nation that has launched into the trail of reform,” Tarabella mentioned.

“What’s necessary is that, when the lights of the World Cup have gone out, the optimistic evolution continues not solely in Qatar, however it may unfold to all of the nations of the Arabian Peninsula.”

In early December, Kaili, Bartolo and Tarabella voted in favour of exempting visa necessities for Qatar and Kuwait, which might have allowed visa-free journey throughout EU territory for 90 days.

Cozzolino and Area didn’t take part in that vote.

The file handed the civil liberties committee with 42 MEPs in favour and 16 towards, and was anticipated to be despatched to the total plenary. However after the scandal erupted, European President Roberta Metsola introduced the visa-waiver discussions could be despatched again to the committee in an effort to be re-examined.

Moreover, Tarabella and Kaili sat on the Parliament’s delegation for relations with the Arab Peninsula (DARP), which goals to strengthen cooperation with Gulf nations, together with Qatar.

Hannah Neumann, the Inexperienced MEP who chairs DARP, mentioned that, throughout her tenure, she has seen “some embassies” attempting to affect the committee’s choices “far more aggressively than others.”

“It was fairly apparent that just a few colleagues from the S&D group had a robust pro-Qatari agenda. Nonetheless, I by no means thought that in some instances this could be linked to unlawful exterior interference and the allegations have shocked me,” Neumann advised Euronews.

“If it seems to be true that Qatar, or another nation, has tried to affect Members of the European Parliament via massive bribes, this will likely be a heavy burden for diplomatic relations and in addition for my work with the delegation.”

The Qatari authorities has distanced itself from Kaili and the following political storm.

“Any affiliation of the Qatari authorities with the reported claims is baseless and gravely misinformed,” the Qatari Mission to the European Union mentioned in an announcement.

With revelations mounting, Iratxe García mentioned her get together would launch its personal inquiry to “be taught classes” from previous errors and would current itself as an “injured get together” within the authorized case.

“This isn’t a corruption case that impacts one political group, one nation, one delegation,” García mentioned. “It’s about people who broke the foundations, people who’ve dedicated crimes, and people who have to be held accountable earlier than the legislation.”

This text has been up to date to incorporate new reactions and developments.

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World

Police officer dressed as the 'Grinch' steals Christmas spirit during drug bust

Published

31 minutes ago

December 24, 2024

Press Room

Police officer dressed as the 'Grinch' steals Christmas spirit during drug bust

A Peruvian police officer dressed as the Grinch, the cantankerous and green-furred villain, busted suspected drug traffickers in the South American country’s capital days before Christmas.

The operation in San Bartolo in Lima resulted in the arrest of three suspects, according to a video posted online by the Peruvian National Police.

“In an ingenious operation, agents of the Green Squad arrested the aliases La Reina del Sur, La Coneja and Pote, alleged members of the La Mafia de San Bartolo gang, dedicated to drug dealing,” a police post on X states. “Various narcotics were seized.”

FLORIDA MAN WHO WAS HALF-NAKED, ‘HIGH ON METH’ BREAKS INTO HOME, GRABS CARPET CLEANER

The “Grinch” posing with suspected drug traffickers. A Peruvian police officer dressed as the Christmas villain helped bust the alleged traffickers. (Peru National Police)

Using what appeared to be a sledgehammer, the officer walked down the street dressed as the infamous Christmas villain with a small heart before breaking down the front door of a home and entering, according to the video footage.

The suspects were arrested, and the “Grinch” is seen rummaging through various items in the home before finding what authorities said were illegal drugs and other items related to drug trafficking.

MORE THAN $31M OF METH CONCEALED IN SHIPMENT OF PEPPERS SEIZED AT TEXAS-MEXICO BORDER

A Peruvian police officer dressed as the “Grinch” on his way to bust suspected drug traffickers. (Peru National Police )

Peru is the second-largest producer of cocaine and cultivator of coca in the world, according to the State Department.

“The majority of cocaine produced in Peru is transported to South American countries for domestic consumption, or for onward shipment to Europe, the United States, East Asia, and Mexico,” the State Department website said.

Peru’s national police force has carried out similar operations in the past.

The “Grinch” busting down a door (Peru National Police)

On Halloween 2023, officers disguised as horror favorites Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees and Tiffany Valentine, the murderous doll in the “Child’s Play” series, also broke into the home of alleged drug dealers.

World

Are your Christmas gifts ready? Here are where EU toys come from

Published

1 hour ago

December 24, 2024

Press Room

Are your Christmas gifts ready? Here are where EU toys come from

While the EU saw a drop in toy exports, China was the EU’s biggest supplier, providing 80% of these imports, valued at €5.2 billion.

In 2023, the EU imported €6.5 billion worth of toys from countries outside the bloc, a €2 billion decrease compared to 2022.

According to the latest Eurostat figures, China was the EU’s biggest supplier, providing 80% of these imports, valued at €5.2 billion.

Vietnam followed with 6% and the United Kingdom with 2%.

Around a fifth of the EU’s toy imports ended up in Germany, while France and the Netherlands received 16% and 14%, respectively.

At the same time, the EU exported €2.3 billion worth of toys in 2023.

This figure represents a slight decrease of €0.2 billion from the previous year.

More than half of the toys exported from the EU came from the Czech Republic, Germany and Belgium.

The UK was the top destination for EU toy exports, receiving 30% of the total, followed by Switzerland at 13% and the United States at 10%.

Concerns over toy safety

A recent Toy Industries of Europe study revealed that 80% of toys purchased from third-party sellers on online marketplaces failed to meet EU safety standards.

The research tested over 100 toys from various platforms, uncovering serious health risks such as choking hazards and toxic chemicals.

At the beginning of September, the European Parliament backed a proposal to improve the safety of toys available on the EU market.

The proposal focused particularly on decreasing the number of unsafe toys in the EU market and better protecting children from toy-related risks, including banning harmful chemicals in toys.

World

Fuerzas lideradas por kurdos repelen a rebeldes sirios apoyados por Turquía

Published

10 hours ago

December 24, 2024

Press Room

Fuerzas lideradas por kurdos repelen a rebeldes sirios apoyados por Turquía

QAMISHLI, Siria (AP) — Las Fuerzas Democráticas Sirias lideradas por los kurdos anunciaron el martes que han lanzado una contraofensiva contra el Ejército Nacional Sirio respaldado por Ankara para recuperar áreas cerca de la frontera norte de Siria con Turquía.

Las FDS son aliado crucial de Estados Unidos en Siria, enfocándose en las células durmientes del extremista grupo Estado Islámico dispersas por el este del país.

Desde la caída del régimen totalitario de Bashar Assad a principios de este mes, los enfrentamientos se han intensificado entre el grupo apoyado por Estados Unidos y el ENS, que capturó la ciudad clave de Manbij y las áreas circundantes.

Los intensos enfrentamientos, que han durado semanas, ocurren en un momento en que Siria, devastada por más de una década de guerra y miseria económica, negocia su futuro político tras medio siglo bajo el dominio de la dinastía Assad.

Ruken Jamal, portavoz de la Unidad de Protección de Mujeres, o YPJ, bajo las FDS, dijo a The Associated Press que sus combatientes están a poco más de 11 kilómetros del centro de Manbij en su contraofensiva en curso.

Acusó a Ankara de intentar debilitar la influencia del grupo en las negociaciones sobre el futuro político de Siria a través del ENS,

“Siria está ahora en una nueva fase, y se están llevando a cabo discusiones sobre el futuro del país”, dijo Jamal. “Turquía está intentando, a través de sus ataques, distraernos con batallas y excluirmos de las negociaciones en Damasco”.

El Observatorio Sirio para los Derechos Humanos, un grupo que monitorea la guerra desde Gran Bretaña, dice que desde que la ofensiva del ENS contra los kurdos comenzó a principios de este mes, decenas de combatientes de ambos lados han muerto.

Ankara ve a las FDS como una filial de su archienemigo, el Partido de los Trabajadores del Kurdistán, o PKK, al que clasifica como una organización terrorista. Grupos armados respaldados por Turquía junto con jets turcos han atacado durante años posiciones de las FDS en el norte de Siria, en un intento de crear una zona de amortiguamiento a lo largo de la extensa frontera compartida.

Mientras que el ENS estuvo involucrado en la insurgencia relámpago liderada por el grupo islamista Hayat Tahrir al-Sham que derrocó a Assad, ha continuado su avance contra las FDS, vistas como el segundo actor clave de Siria para su futuro político.

El lunes, el portavoz de las FDS, Farhad Shami, dijo que las fuerzas del grupo repelieron a los rebeldes respaldados por Turquía de áreas cerca de la presa de Tishrin en el Éufrates, una fuente clave de energía hidroeléctrica. Dijo que las FDS también destruyeron un tanque perteneciente a los rebeldes al sureste de Manbij.

El monitor de guerra con sede en Gran Bretaña dijo el martes que el grupo liderado por los kurdos, tras los combates nocturnos, ha recuperado cuatro aldeas en las áreas cerca de la presa estratégica.

Los jets turcos también bombardearon la ciudad fronteriza de Kobani en los últimos días.

Durante el conflicto de Siria, los kurdos se hicieron con un enclave de gobierno autónomo en el noreste de Siria, sin aliarse completamente ni con Assad en Damasco ni con los rebeldes que intentaban derrocarlo.

Incluso tras el derrocamiento de Assad, parece que la posición de Ankara no cambiará. El ministro de Relaciones Exteriores turco Hakan Fidan visitó Siria y mantuvo una posición firme sobre el grupo liderado por los kurdos en su reunión con el líder de facto Ahmad al-Sharaa de HTS.

“Ha convertido la región en un caldero de terror con miembros del PKK y grupos de extrema izquierda que han venido de Turquía, Irak, Irán y Europa”, dijo Fidan en una conferencia de prensa después de la reunión. “La comunidad internacional está haciendo la vista gorda a esta anarquía debido a la custodia que proporciona (contra el Estado Islámico)”.

Con los combates en curso, el comandante de las FDS, Mazloum Abdi, ha expresado su preocupación por un fuerte resurgimiento del EI debido al vacío de poder en Siria y los combates que han dejado al grupo liderado por los kurdos incapaz de llevar a cabo sus ataques y redadas en las células durmientes del grupo extremista.

Decenas de miles de niños, familiares y partidarios de los militantes del EI todavía están retenidos en grandes centros de detención en el noreste de Siria, en áreas bajo control de las FDS.

—

Chehayeb informó desde Beirut.