Senior members of the European Parliament have unanimously agreed on a proposal to remove an MEP from her role as a parliament vice president
The proposal must now be supported by a two thirds majority of MEPs in the parliament later this afternoon.The decision of the Conference of Presidents, comprising senior members of the Parliament, was announced by Parliament President Roberta Metsola in the Hemicycle in Strasbourg this morning.
She vowed to initiate an internal investigation in order to establish all facts and also to"shake up" the institution. Searches were carried out at the homes of MEPs and their associates in Belgium and around a million euros in cash has been recovered after the accusations that Qatar has been seeking to burnish its image.
Ms Kaili is remanded in custody and will face a hearing tomorrow to see if she and three fellow accused will need to remain in detention pending a corruption trial. She received a new legal blow on Monday, when Greek authorities froze the former television presenter and her relatives' assets."Any claims of misconduct by the state of Qatar are gravely misinformed," a Qatar official told AFP.Meanwhile, EU Ombudsman Emily O'Reilly has called for an urgent overhaul of the EU's ethics system in the wake of the corruption investigation.
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