Eva Kaili reveals her intention to live in Italy, speaking to the Italian Corriere Della Sera.
In an interview, long after her last media appearance, and despite warnings from the Belgian judiciary that she could be imprisoned again if she speaks to the media, the Greek MEP, among other things, criticises the attitude of the European Parliament and its president, Roberta Metsola, towards the Qatargate prosecutions.
As the Qatargate investigation continues, MEPs involved in it, such as Eva Kaili, Andrea Cozzolino, Mark Tarabella and Marie Arenas will not be able to seek a second term, the Italian newspaper notes, although they could do so, as the investigation and the charges are still pending.
In the interview, journalist Giuseppe Guastella observes that banning Kaili from appearing in the media would be unconstitutional in Italy and adds that the European Parliament “certainly did not show courage to defend” the Greek MEP, not from the charges, but from a “confused” procedure regarding respect for the privileges of elected officials.
“I find outrageous the silence of the entire European Parliament on such an unconstitutional restriction, such as that of my right to defend myself and to speak out about everything that was artfully leaked”, Ms Kaili underlines.
She also criticises her political party, pointing out that “hoping for a political advantage, President Roberta Metsola and the Social Democrats, instead of defending the institutions, tried, before the elections, to hide their inability to respect the principles of the EU”.
“A dangerous precedent has been set, allowing the judiciary to interfere in politics, irreparably undermining the integrity of the European institution,” he added.
She makes it clear that she will not stand as a candidate in the June European elections: “I had hoped that EU citizens could see the truth before they vote in June, but the ban on talking about this case makes it impossible for me to even stand as a candidate.”
Asked about her future plans, she says she will dedicate herself to supporting women and children who are victims of the failures of the system (a spike, presumably, for what she claims was her unfair prosecution and the time she had to be away from her young daughter), and makes it clear that, after her term of office ends, she does not intend to remain in Belgium.
“I will probably move to Italy”, reveals Eva Kaili, explaining that this will not happen because of the… Francesco Giorgio, but “because it is a country that I consider home for various reasons and because in Italy there is a beautiful word, such as ‘garantismo’, which should be translated throughout Europe”.
North Macedonia: Clear victory for opposition VMRO-DPMNE candidate in the first round of elections
In Italy there are certain parties that oppose politically motivated trials and ask for respect for the party-independent presumption of innocence” of the accused, he observes.
As for the still long legal battle ahead of her, she stresses that she has spoken in Belgium about violations of the rights of members of parliament and about her unjustified arrest and the bias of the investigating judge.
She has also appealed against the ban on speaking to the press, “which is a fundamental freedom”, and says she will take legal action against the European Parliament, “which has violated my right to be heard and to defend myself”…
