The former vice-president of the European Parliament Eva Kaili is released from prison while the judge seeks new implicated in the 'Qatargate'

The former vice president of the European Parliament Eva Kaili, this Friday after being released from prison through 'Qatargate'. NICOLAS ECONOMOU (REUTERS)

For once, the agitation did not take place this Friday in the European Parliament, but a hundred meters away, in the apartment block where the Greek Eva Kaili arrived at mid-morning after spending four months in pretrial detention as one of the main defendants. by the

.

The former vice president of the European Parliament has been the last of the defendants to leave prison for the plot of alleged bribes from countries such as Qatar and Morocco that has convulsed the European institutions.

With her placement under house arrest, the case enters a new phase, the judicial end of which no one dares to specify yet.

Meanwhile, his colleagues still in the chamber —both Kaili and another of the defendants arrested, the Belgian Marc Tarabella, keep the act of MEPs and receive their salary as such— seek to speed up some reforms to prevent a new Qatargate from once again calling into

the prestige and values ​​of the European network.

The Eva Kaili who arrived at her apartment in Brussels on April 14, in a black car whose tinted windows she rolled down to briefly greet the press before disappearing into the garage, was a smiling woman despite the ravages of having spent 126 days in confinement. in a cell.

An Eva Kaili very different from the one who, from that same house, another Friday, a cold and gray December 9, saw how her life and career suddenly collapsed when the police arrested her partner, the parliamentary assistant, outside the house. Francesco Giorgio.

Shortly after, her father fell, arrested with a suitcase full of money and, finally, Kaili herself did, whose parliamentary immunity was annulled when she was caught in what the courts considered a flagrant attempt to hide evidence.

"My daughter is waiting for me and I am very happy to be with her again," Kaili said upon arrival, referring to the two-year-old girl she has with Giorgi.

The Italian, who, unlike Kaili, has confessed to his involvement in

, has been under house arrest since the end of February.

On the eve of Kaili's release from prison, with an electronic bracelet to monitor at all times that she does not leave her home, her lawyers had hinted that the Greek does not want to know anything about her partner;

She reproaches him for having implicated her in a plot to which she has always declared her innocence despite the fact that bags and suitcases of money were found in her house.

“The fight continues with the determination of my lawyers.

We'll talk soon," Kaili simply said.

"He leaves prison with dignity and without having admitted crimes that he has not committed," his defense attorney, the Greek lawyer Michalis Dimitrakopoulos, had insisted the day before.

“The road ahead is still difficult, but he is going to fight to prove his innocence.

She dreams of being acquitted and returning to Greece to embrace the compatriots who trusted her.

The way is long.

The case is still in the investigation process and sources familiar with the file doubt that it will conclude before December.

Then it remains to set a date for the trial, something that could take years.

Another question is whether there will be new arrests: beyond those accused so far of corruption and money laundering -Kaili, Giorgi, Tarabella, the trade unionist Luca Visentini and the alleged ringleader of the plot, the former Italian MEP Pier Antonio Panzeri-, the judge investigate other names linked to the cause, including several more MEPs.

Since Panzeri signed a “repentant” agreement with the Belgian justice in January in exchange for a lesser sentence, more names have also leaked: those of the Belgian Marie Arena and the Italian MEPs Alessandra Moretti and Lara Comi.

All deny any involvement.

At the moment, the only one Belgian justice is looking for is also Italian Andrea Cozzolino.

He is under house arrest in Naples waiting for the Italian justice to accept his deportation, after the European Parliament approved in February the lifting of his immunity, just like Tarabella's.

Belgian justice has not issued new requests.

Except for Comi, who belongs to the European People's Party (EPP), the suspects were part of the Socialists and Democrats (S&D) group chaired by the Spanish Iratxe García.

The European formation forced those indicated to abandon their duties within the group as soon as the scandal broke out.

Kaili was dismissed as vice president of the Eurochamber.

Despite this, both Kaili and Tarabella and Cozzolino will continue to receive a good part of their salary as long as they keep their record, something that is a national decision and not that of the European Parliament.

Thus, except for allowances for attending plenary votes, they are entitled to their pay, which exceeds 7,000 euros per month.

The Greek has not revealed his professional plans for the moment, but Tarabella has stated, since her release from prison this week, her intention to continue, as far as possible, as mayor of the Belgian town of Anthisnes and as MEP.

“He is going to work as if he were confined, like during the covid.

You cannot vote, but you can amend texts or follow committee discussions.

It is an almost normal activity, ”a spokesman for the Belgian MEP explained to EL PAÍS.

From his house, then, the new plenary session that will be held in Strasbourg this Monday will follow.

A date on which the president of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, wants to start implementing some of the main reforms that she has promoted to avoid a new

.

Just one year after the new European elections, times are pressing.

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