The Qatargate scandal threatens the fragile credibility of the EU’s institutions among ordinary people who are increasingly sceptical about their politicians’ ability to improve their lives.
When, in December, Belgian federal police raided locations across Brussels, seizing mobile phones, computers and more than €1.5 million in cash and arrested four people, many were not surprised.
Lucy Hall and Hans Van Scharen are researchers for Corporate Europe Observatory, an NGO monitoring lobbying in Brussels. Following the eruption of the Qatarate scandal, they wrote, “To the average person, Qatargate is shocking: the idea that elected officials would take actual bribes from one of the most repressive regimes in the world, in exchange for playing down serious rights violations. But to those of us who have been working for years to cast a light on EU corruption, this scandal is not a shock, or even a surprise; it is just the tip of the iceberg.”
European Parliament president Roberta Metsola acted fast to limit the damage to the credibility of EU institutions. She pledged to ensure “more transparency” and “accountability” with a “first-step approach” that would include greater scrutiny of “those representing third countries and their interests”.
She insisted this was just “the beginning, not the end” of action to clean up the abuse of power by MEPs.
Still, some MEPs and observers considered that her proposals did not go far enough to restore public credibility to the institutions.
Allegations of corruption do not only afflict EU institutions. Every political system has crooks. But the Qatargate sleaze will disrupt the European Parliament’s bid to curb corruption among the bloc’s 27 member states.
When this scandal erupted, the European Council agreed to suspend €6.3 billion in EU subsidies to Hungary until it adheres to basic rule-of-law principles. Viktor Orban, Hungary’s right-wing prime minister, is gloating at the EU’s discomfort.
The European Parliament decided to lift the immunity of the MEPs involved in this scandal and Metsola made 14 proposals to deal with tightening the screws on MEPs’ behaviour. Among those proposals are tighter rules for MEPs on contacts with lobbyists and a requirement to disclose who they are meeting when discussing legislative work, as well as logging all persons entering the EP’s premises and the purpose of their visit.
These are a good beginning to the reforms that the EU needs to gain the trust of more ordinary people. But more needs to be done.
Despite its limited powers, the EP amends and passes legislation that is improved by its expertise. It has to struggle to make an impression on the public. It is often perceived to be engulfed in the Brussels bubble, with much of the parliament’s energy spent trying to secure more powers for itself.
The Economist describes the European Parliament’s’ role as “providing a veneer of democratic legitimacy to the strange contraption that is the EU”.
Over 60,000 people work in the EU institutions, including about 10,000 in the parliament alone. Many are competent and hardworking, but there is little evidence of any significant efforts to rationalise the human resources needed to manage these institutions effectively. Some observers argue that the European Parliament does not need over 700 MEPs to fulfil its limited legislative duties.
The governance structure of the EU is often debated but rarely are any steps taken to reform it.
The Qatargate scandal may be an excellent opportunity to start a root and branch reform of EU institutions to make them more relevant to hundreds of millions of EU citizens.