Europe at the Mercy of Qatar?

[] [Europe at the Mercy of Qatar?]( by Drieu Godefridi • January 6, 2023 at 5:00 am [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [WhatsApp]( [Telegram]( [Send]( [Print]( - The stadiums for the FIFA World Cup in Qatar were built in conditions described as slave-like and hellish. For ten years, armies of Asian workers were put to work for miserable wages in wretched living conditions. According to the Guardian, since the emirate was awarded the World Cup, 6,500 workers died on Qatar's construction sites. This carnage did not predestine Qatar for praise from the Socialist Group in the European Parliament. - "The recent backroom deal approved by the Bureau to appoint a new EP Secretary-General is emblematic of an institution that thinks that rules for ethics and integrity should only apply to others." — Michiel van Hulten, director of Transparency International EU, December 10, 2022. - That the Socialist Group, the second-largest in the European Parliament, was so easily bribed by little Qatar, to the extent of cheering on the "labour law reforms" of a slave emirate, is yet to be confirmed by the courts. It is also possibly just the "tip of the iceberg." - Other geopolitical actors, who are known to have an interest in the resolutions of the European Parliament, have even more considerable means at their disposal. Belgian federal police recently found €150,000 ($157,700) in cash at the Brussels home of the Vice-President of the European Parliament, Eva Kaili (pictured), who was then arrested and charged with corruption. That a small country such as Qatar could so easily bribe the Socialist Group in the European Parliament, to the point of causing it to say the opposite of what it supported a week earlier, is dismaying. (Photo by Menelaos Myrillas/SOOC/AFP via Getty Images) Belgian federal police recently found €150,000 ($157,700) in cash at the Brussels home of the Vice-President of the European Parliament, Eva Kaili (Panhellenic Socialist Movement), who was then arrested and charged with corruption. She remains in jail. Also arrested were Luca Visentini, secretary general of the International Trade Union Confederation, and former socialist MEP Pier-Antonio Panzeri. Francesco Giorgi, Kaili's domestic partner and former parliamentary assistant to Panzeri, was also arrested. The home of MEP Marc Tarabella (Socialist Party) was searched. [Continue Reading Article]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [RSS]( [Donate]( Copyright © Gatestone Institute, All rights reserved. You are subscribed to this list as {EMAIL} You can change how you receive these emails: [Update your subscription preferences]( or [Unsubscribe from this list]( [Gatestone Institute]( 14 East 60 St., Suite 705, New York, NY 10022