Irish Examiner view: EU must act to restore confidence

Qatar corruption

At a time when the World Cup host country is also at the centre of claims of human rights abuses and allegations of mistreatment of foreign workers, the emergence of claims the country was also trying to 'buy influence' in the European Parliament is extremely worrying on a number of fronts. Picture: AP Photo/Hassan Ammar, File

Qatari government denials that it is a malign global influence, after the uncovering of a corrupt and criminal attempt to bribe elected European parliamentarians and officials in Brussels, ring somewhat hollow given the evidence which has so far been uncovered.

A Belgian judge has charged four unnamed people with “participation in a criminal organisation, money laundering, and corruption” after a series of raids across Brussels in which an MEP was detained and €600,000 in cash was seized. The raids were part of an international investigation involving allegations against the Qatari state and EU representatives.