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6 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 27 MARCH 2022 OPINION 2 maltatoday EXECUTIVE EDITOR Matthew Vella mvella@mediatoday.com.mt Letters to the Editor, MaltaToday, Vjal ir-Rihan, San Gwann SGN 9016 E-mail: dailynews@mediatoday.com.mt Letters must be concise, no pen names accepted, include full name and address maltatoday | SUNDAY • 18 DECEMBER 2022 Qatargate, and what's good for the goose Editorial APART from its legislative work, the Europe- an Parliament often acts as a moral and ethical watchdog on governments of the member states. So it comes as no surprise that MEPs today face backlash over the corruption scandal involving Eva Kaili, the now former vice president of the EP. Kaili was expelled from her role as vice pres- ident by EP President Roberta Metsola after she was arrested and charged with corruption, money laundering and participating in or- ganised crime, in a probe started by Belgian police. Kaili and several EP staffers, and members of the NGO 'Fight Impunity' – the irony can- not be more conspicuous – allegedly received money from World Cup host Qatar to speak favourably of the country in the face of in- ternational criticism of its poor human and worker rights record. Hundreds of thousands of euros in hard cash have been seized by police in Belgium and Greece; offices at the European Parliament have been sealed by the police and computers were confiscated as part of the investigation. In scathing remarks to the European Parlia- ment last week, Metsola described the scandal as the actions of "autocratic countries" that have weaponised unionists, staffers and MEPs in a direct affront to democracy. She vowed an internal investigation and the EP's full cooper- ation with investigators. However, the big question is whether this is just a case of a few rotten apples, or one where the whole crate is rotten. The latter appears to be more the case. For all its lessons on morality and rule of law – Malta would know a thing or two about this – the European Parliament is partly to blame for what is being dubbed as 'Qatargate'. For years MEPs, and indeed all European institutions, have been reluctant to tighten expenditure rules and introduce proper over- sight mechanisms. Lax oversight of members' financial activities, and the fact that states were able to contact MEPs and staffers – with- out ever logging the encounters in a public register – are a recipe for corruption. Lob- bying rules are lax and full of loopholes that allow too much space for voluntary action. But it's not just limited to MEPs. The re- volving door of senior European officials who head off to serve private interests after a stint at the European Commission or Council is another area that requires tougher oversight. It is these lacunas that made Qatargate pos- sible in the first place. And while cases involv- ing bags of hard cash, as seems to be the case now, are not commonplace, influence can be bought through the financing of exotic trips and other freebies, making the problem more pervasive than it seems. Taking short-term, tough action to address the current issue at hand is of the utmost im- portance; but on its own, it will not suffice. When delegations from the EP came to Mal- ta to assess the state of the rule of law in the wake of Daphne Caruana Galizia's murder, they rightly concluded that police prosecu- tions on their own were not enough, unless long-term measures are taken to end impunity and empower the forces of law and order to act without fear or favour. What MEPs were looking for was political commitment to change the systems that grew defective over time. This required amend- ments to our laws and structures, and the in- troduction of control mechanisms. But what's good for the goose is good for the gander; and with the European Parliament now tainted by its own massive corruption scandal, the time has come for tougher con- trols and independent scrutiny of all European institutions. If Roberta Metsola wants to be credible about her efforts to stamp out corruption, her fight should be to change the rules and make MEPs fully accountable to an independent oversight mechanism. The EP's credibility is at stake. Firefighting is well and good for the time being, but it will need to turn into a root-and- branch overhaul of the entire system; other- wise, people across the continent will simply lift their hand and refuse to 'shake hands', as they stand up to impunity. 16 December 2012 Sicilian judges freeze Mafia money in Valletta-based company WIND energy company held in Valletta fidu- ciary company targeted by Palermo investiga- tors hunting Mafia boss of bosses. Sicilian anti-mafia judges have issued a freez- ing order on assets and money registered under a Valletta-based company which investigations have revealed to be connected to one of the world's most wanted mafia bosses, Matteo Messina Denaro. Known to be the current 'boss of bosses' to Sicily's notorious 'Cosa Nostra', Denaro was al- ways considered to be the Mafia's most prolific financial brain, who invested and laundered bil- lions of drug and extortion money all over the world, including Malta on various occasions. On the run for the past 25 years, Denaro has this week hit the headlines in Italy for his connections to the highly lucrative sector of renewable energy. Months of investigations in Palermo have yielded Denaro's links to Sicily's wind farm energy, through a series of companies which generate governmental contracts, and money which is then funnelled through an elaborate scheme of financial transactions, and eventually end up in a company registered to an address in Old Archbishop Street, in Valletta. Investigators from Sicily's anti-mafia pool of magistrates have identified Eryngium as the Maltese company which was allegedly the re- cipient of such financial transactions, and or- dered an immediate freeze of an estimated €1.3 million in assets. According to the investigators, the company was created by a "mastermind" in financial and economic affairs, identified as Messina Univer- sity head of the faculty of economics, Professor. Melo Martella, who has been served with a warrant for his arrest. Others said to be connected to Eryngium and its mother-company Eryngium Holdings Limit- ed – also registered in Malta – is Nino Scimemi from the town of Salemi, and Vito Nicastri from Alcamo, who earned himself the nick- name as 'king of the wind' for his involvement in a number of wind farms around the Italian peninsula, and who is at the centre of a number of investigations by police for his role in illicit business. ... Quote of the Week "I don't comment on 'ifs', there are thousands of possibilities, and so we have to see once the amendments are finalised. It is still early." President George Vella when asked what he would be doing should the amendments to Malta's abortion legislation be presented to him MaltaToday 10 years ago