EU votes to remove Vice-President Eva Kaili over bribery allegations
ITV News Europe Editor James Mates reports on the controversy which has rocked the EU parliament
The EU's parliament has removed Vice-President Eva Kaili from office following allegations that she and others received cash and gifts from Qatar in exchange for influencing decisions.
The decision was approved by 625 votes in favour, one against, and two abstentions.
It follows a series of raids conducted by police in Belgium and Italy as part of a probe into bribery for political favours.
The corruption scandal has left the careers of several lawmakers in the balance and has undermined the assembly’s claim to the moral high ground in its own investigations - such as into allegations of corruption in member country Hungary.
Parliament President Roberta Metsola claimed that “European democracy is under attack”.
Kaili was one of the 14 vice presidents in the Parliament and has denied any wrongdoing, as has Qatar.
She was ousted by a double majority of two-thirds of the votes cast and a majority of members composing the Parliament.
The vote was taken according to Article 21 of Parliament's rules of procedure and follows ongoing investigations in Belgium involving some members and staff of the European Parliament.
The procedure was triggered by a decision of the Conference of Presidents earlier on the same day, which approved the action unanimously.
Josep Borrell, Head of EU diplomacy, said the accusations were "very, very, very grave" and that they would be following the police and judiciary actions closely.
The removal of Kaili follows calls for the establishment of an ethics body for European institutions, with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen saying that it is time to discuss the establishment of such a body.
She added that the European Commission already has an ethics body with "very clear rules" internally.
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