As the purported bribery scandal known as "Qatargate" rocks the European Parliament, FRANCE 24 speaks to prominent MEP Daniel Freund, who, until 2019, led Transparency International's work on the integrity of the EU institutions. He then took up his mandate as an EU parliamentarian for the Group of the Greens. Freund argues that the Parliament needs an independent body to provide oversight, because precedent shows that "self-control does not work". His remarks come amid revelations that Qatar allegedly bribed EU lawmakers in a bid to influence policy – something the Emirate, which is currently hosting the FIFA World Cup, strenuously denies.
Taking a broad view of the scandal, Freund says: "If the allegations turn out to be true, then this is the biggest scandal we've ever seen in the European Parliament. The amounts of money that are involved; the blatant, aggressive way of seeking to buy influence in the Parliament; this is something we haven't seen on this scale."
