Eva Kaili

As reported by Politico, Metsola aimed to cleanse the European Parliament’s image, which had been tarnished by successive scandals. In response to Qatargate in 2022, which involved Greek MEP Eva Kaili accused of accepting cash from the Qatari government to exert influence, Metsola decided that greater transparency was the best way to combat corruption.

Since the last European elections in 2019, 163 complaints have been lodged against MEPs for workplace harassment, fraud, nepotism, financing and, even espionage for Russia, according to Belgian newspaper La Libre in February.

Of the 21 Greek MEPs, at least five have dealt with the justice system and were investigated for criminal and non-criminal offenses.

Politician Eva Kaili, who is being investigated over corruption allegations dubbed Qatargate, could face legal repercussions if she speaks to the media about the scandal, Brussels-based news site POLITICO has reported.

The Court of Justice of the European Union has dismissed "as inadmissible in its entirety" the challenge brought by European Parliament Member Eva Kaili against the request for lifting her parliamentary immunity.

The police found 280,000 euros in cash at the home of the son of MEP Maria Arena, reported the Belgian newspaper "Le Soir", quoted by BTA.

The uniformed officers searched five other locations, all of which were "directly or indirectly connected to Arena or her family," the prosecutor's office said in a statement.

The Financial Police conducted searches at the homes of MEP Eva Kaili in Psychiko and her sister Madalena in Kifissia, which ended Wednesday.

A Belgian prosecutor was also present during the checks, executing a European order for an investigation by Belgian judicial authorities into Kaili, one the of main suspects in a corruption probe at the European Parliament.

European Parliament Deputy Eva Kaili has appealed to the European Parliament for violation of her parliamentary immunity, in a claim she was surveilled by intelligence services during her tenure on the PEGA committee (Committee of Inquiry to investigate the use of Pegasus and equivalent surveillance spyware), her lawyers Sven Mary and Michalis Dimitrakopoulos said on Monday.

Eva Kaili, the MEP charged over her involvement in the Qatargate scandal, will not attend the plenary session of European Parliament in Strasbourg this week, for "personal, objective reasons which cannot be made public," her lawyers said in a statement on Monday. 

Greek MEP Eva Kaili, one the main suspects in a cash-for-influence corruption probe at the European Parliament, will seek to return to her parliamentary duties next week, her lawyer has said.

On Thursday, Belgian authorities announced that Kaili was no longer under house arrest and was not required to wear an ankle bracelet.

Greek MEP Eva Kaili, a suspect in connection with the "Qatargate" scandal, has been released from house arrest, AFP reported.