PM De Croo: 'Belgian justice is doing what the European Parliament has failed to do'

On Tuesday, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo praised the work of the Belgian Justice Department in the large-scale corruption investigation into the State of Qatar buying influence in the European Parliament.

"Apparently, Belgian justice is doing what the European Parliament has failed to do,” De Croo noted, adding that the elements known so far in the investigation are "the result of a long and thorough effort. Surely the European Parliament has many means to regulate its own functioning, but apparently, the system of self-checking has not been enough."

However, De Croo's comments are not entirely correct, as the President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola stated in a speech on Monday that the Parliament has, in fact, collaborated with the Belgian authorities in this investigation.

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"We acted in sync with [the local] authorities to ensure that all legal steps are respected, that all information is preserved and that, where needed, IT equipment is secured, offices are sealed and house searches are able to be carried out," she said. "I accompanied a Belgian judge and police as required by the Belgian constitution to a house search last weekend."

Since last Friday, the European Parliament has been in the eye of the storm since Belgian courts have conducted searches as part of a corruption investigation. Investigators suspect that a Gulf state, since confirmed to be Qatar, is trying to influence decision-making by offering large sums of money and significant gifts to individuals with strategic positions in parliament.

So far, four people have been arrested, including the now-resigned Vice President of the European Parliament Eva Kaili (S&D), her partner F.G., former Italian MEP Pier Antonio Panzeri and a Brussels-Italian lobbyist. At least €1.5 million in cash has also already been seized.