Documents collected in the investigation reveal more than 300 attempts to manipulate democracy in the EU – Executive Summary

The European Parliament corruption scandal that became known as Qatargate is approaching the one-year anniversary of the launch of searches and arrests of those responsible, including then-Vice President Eva Kaili, and the issue is expected to come to light again. It has been talked about in European institutions, taking into account the documents found by the Belgian authorities, as well as internal investigations conducted by the European Parliament.

Politico has accessed hundreds of documents forming part of the investigation that reveal that over a period of four years, the main suspects, including former MEP Pier Antonio Panzeri and his advisor Francesco Giorgi (then boyfriend of Kylie), had a record of attempted manipulation. In the European Parliament.

Countries such as Qatar, Morocco and Mauritania are suspected of spending around four million euros on payments, trips and offers to members of the corruption network.

On Giorgi’s computer, which was seized in an apartment in Brussels, an Excel sheet was found listing more than 300 alleged attempts to manipulate and influence the network, with actions carried out between 2018 and 2022.

Investigators suspect that the network, led by Baziri, was manipulating parliament on behalf of Qatar and other countries, but the documents also indicate that it was trying to exploit the lack of knowledge of some senior officials about democracy in the European Union.

Francesco Giorgi admitted to police that he and Panzeri sometimes communicated with paying countries about processes and decisions over which they had no influence, while Panzeri also exaggerated his responsibilities and powers over European institutions.

The list includes several operations, the most prominent of which are the following:

– For Qatar, it was the “jackpot” that was almost over: Doha was trying to win the chance that its people would not need a visa to travel to the European Union, something that ended up getting the green light in Parliament’s Civil Liberties Committee in December 2022. , days before Giorgi and Panzeri were arrested. The final vote was suspended when the scandal broke.

– In the same operation, there were two plans of action regarding who to pressure. The precondition put forward to secure an agreement between Qatar and the EU is the removal of MEPs critical of Doha and its treatment of migrant workers and journalists. Giorgi reported success in “neutralizing” six parliamentary resolutions condemning Qatar, between June 2021 and November 2022.

– Manipulation of parliamentary hearings: The list includes success in “changing the discourse in the European Parliament”, given the criticism that was mounting regarding the preparations for the FIFA World Cup in that country, with the alleged exploitation of migrant workers, mediated by the intervention of a Qatari official in a hearing before a committee of the European Parliament Also in February 2020, there is a record of the preparation of memorandums with the aim of the presence of the Qatari Foreign Minister in a European Parliament committee, on “issues taken up” by some members of the European Parliament.

– Attacks on Qatar’s competitors: The document lists an operation, in 2021, aimed at stopping the appointment of the UAE police chief (with whom Qatar has tense relations), Nasser Al-Raisi, as the new head of Interpol. Another action targeted Saudi Arabia, after severing relations with Qatar. Panzeri and Giorgi asked the state for “a package of measures that included social media posts criticizing the country and the showing of films related to the killing of Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi.”

There are several alleged acts of interference on behalf of Morocco and Mauritania. In the documents, those concerned congratulate themselves on having been able to pass a parliamentary resolution against Algeria, which will benefit Morocco, or on achieving success in a “more moderate text” criticizing Morocco for its handling of the migration crisis in 2021. With the aim of improving the overall picture, the special Excel paper proposed The organization is trying to prevent an activist who opposes the Mauritanian government from winning the Sakharov Prize for Human Rights offered by the European Union.