corrupt is the European Union? // (John Hinderaker)

The European Union is a liberal’s dream. It has no national sovereignty, an attenuated democracies, and a government of, by, for self-appointed elites. This is exactly what America’s liberals want. It could not go wrong.

It could be corrupt, for one. In connection with the World Cup tournament, Qatar gave a lot to European Parliament members. The London Times reports

As part of an investigation into corruption allegations in the European Union, police have taken more than EUR1million. A vice-president was also arrested.

The scandal, which was described as the largest corruption investigation in the history the European parliament has cast a shadow on MEPs as they gather at Strasbourg. It raises questions about the legitimacy of the parliament’s decisions.

Eva Kaili is a vice-president of parliament and a Greek Socialist. She is being held by a Belgian prosecutor along with three others.

Eva Kaili seems to be hopelessly corrupt – par for the course of a Socialist.

According to reports, Kaili was found with cash bags at her Brussels home. According to judicial sources, she was taken into custody after police raided her home and found EUR150,000 hidden inside “luxurious travel bags”.

After her father Alezandros Kailis was arrested on Friday with a suitcase filled with EUR600,000.00 in cash, the raid took place after she lost her parliamentary immunity. Kaili’s sister was also taken into custody.

Kaili, by traditional definition, is an honest politician. She stays bought once she’s bought. She “raised eyebrows” by calling Qatar a “front-runner in labor rights”, amid concerns about deaths and poor working conditions of construction workers who built stadiums ahead the World Cup.

As with the Biden crime families, a huge amount of money is being sloshed around.

Belgian investigators claimed that EUR600,000.00 was seized from the home of a suspect. Several hundred thousand euros were also found in a suitcase in a Brussels hotel and EUR150,000 in a flat belonging a MEP. Four people were charged with corruption, money laundering, and participating in a criminal organization.

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During a search of Antonio Panzeri’s house, police found EUR600,000. Investigators believe he was the “leader” who instructed the aides to European parliamentarians how to vote and what to say at Qatar’s request.

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Over 16 raids were conducted over the weekend in Italy and Greece. Large quantities of high-denomination cash and computer equipment, as well as mobile phones, were seized by police.

EU officials are shocked to learn that hundreds of thousands of euros are in the suitcases of EU parliamentarians, just like Rick’s Cafe’s owner. Hey, don’t you?

Roberta Metsola, the president and speaker of the parliament, will make a statement today and promise to “clean up” EU’s directly elected consultative assembly.

Good luck. Massive corruption will occur where there is little accountability. Some observers are more realistic.

Michiel van Hulten is a former Dutch Socialist MEP who is now the director of Transparency International in Brussels. He warned that this new scandal “isn’t an isolated incident.”

He said that the parliament had allowed a culture based on impunity over many decades. This was due to a combination of lax financial controls and a complete absence of independent (or even any) ethics oversight. “In many ways, it has become a law by itself.”

I doubt there is any way to clean-up the European Parliament or the European Union more generally. The entire institution is corrupt, and was intended to be so. How is it any different from Washington, D.C. in the Age of Biden.