The logo of her party Pasok shows a rising green sun. Rarely that a star burned up as quickly as Eva Kaili’s. Was the fall of the career-talented politician foreseeable?
Eva Kaili has been making international headlines since the weekend. Her status as EU Vice President: suspended. The accusation: “gang corruption and money laundering”. The 44-year-old is said to have advertised the Emirate of Qatar in the highest European circles and also exerted political influence.
Kaili’s speech on November 22, 2022 in the EU Parliament is one of the indications. In it, the trained architect and former TV presenter goes so far as to claim that the World Cup in Qatar is “concrete proof of how sports diplomacy can lead to a historic transformation of a country whose reforms have inspired the Arab world”. And further: Qatar is “a leader in labor rights”.
From a Qatari point of view, that might be correct. It would not be correct at all if money had flowed in return for so much goodwill. The 600,000 euros in plastic bags seized by investigators in Kaili’s apartment, however, suggest this suspicion.
Although she did not hold the post of Vice-President of the European Parliament exclusively, Kaili has been part of the Brussels nobility since her appointment in January 2022. The Parliament website assigns eight assistants to her. It’s not just called a career in politics!
Her former colleague in the EU Parliament and later Deputy Leader of the Left in the Bundestag, Fabio De Masi, remembers on Twitter: “Eva Kaili moved into the European Parliament with me in 2014. We sat together on the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee during the euro crisis. At the time, I never noticed her through her own contributions to debates or through her particular commitment.”
De Masi continues: “But she made it to the position of Vice-President of the European Parliament. Careers in politics are rarely based on commitment/performance.”
Nevertheless, Kaili’s CV deserves the title valuable:
Statements by Kaili on digital issues have mainly come down to us from the circles of the EU Parliament. About social networks: “We have to understand how virality works. We need to understand how these new social media influence people or even manipulate news.”
Or on artificial intelligence (AI): “We can also set comprehensive standards for AI to ensure that there are ethical rules that everyone follows, that we do not use AI to weaponize humanity, that AI complements and does not replace people, that we are not developing AI with a mind.”
Or about fake news: “A negative message can spread in no time at all. We recognize that we must respond by ensuring our citizens have access to truth, or evidence-based science.”
Kaili has also bagged awards in her political career:
However, the Greek only became known to a broader public when the allegations of corruption against her, her partner and four other people became known. While Greek authorities froze all of the 44-year-old’s assets on Monday, Kaili is apparently still in custody.
Easing visa rules for Qatari citizens is currently being considered at EU level. The Greens MP Erik Marquardt, who is responsible for this in parliament, told the dpa news agency on Monday that Kaili had recently sought contact with him on the matter. It was therefore important to her that the decision was made quickly and that not so many conditions were imposed. Kaili herself is not a member of the responsible interior committee – but voted on it on December 1st.
According to statements by group colleagues, this was not coordinated with the group. Because Kaili is a deputy member of the parliamentary delegation for the Arabian Peninsula, he was not surprised by her interest, Marquardt continued. It would have been better.
