Four people have been arrested over accusations Qatar bribed officials to try to win influence.
Image source, ReutersArrests over allegations a European Parliament vice president took bribes from a Gulf state are very worrying, Ursula von der Leyen has said.
The European Commission president said corruption charges against four people were of the “utmost concern”.
Among the arrested was European Parliament Vice President Eva Kaili – believed to be one of those charged.
Prosecutors suspect a Gulf state – reportedly Qatar – tried to influence parliament by donating money or gifts.
Qatar has denied misconduct.
Belgian police seized cash worth about €600,000 ($632,000; £515,000) in 16 searches in Brussels on Friday. Computers and mobile phones were also taken, to examine their contents.
Four people have been charged while two have been released, prosecutors said on Sunday.
No suspects have been publicly named but Ms Kaili is understood to be among those who have been indicted.
“They are charged with participation in a criminal organisation, money laundering and corruption,” the Belgian federal prosecutor’s office said in a statement.
‘Jaws on the floor’
The details released by Belgian authorities in the last few days left many people’s jaws on the floor.
Two MEPs homes have been searched and 600,000 euros seized. The federal prosecutor’s office didn’t mince their words in terms of the allegations either.
MEPs I’ve spoken to say they’re shocked by both the scale and blatancy of the accusations, albeit not by the suggestion a foreign power might try to influence EU policy – or seek to improve their country’s reputation through public debates.
Qatar has rejected any reports of misconduct – but this story is set to dominate proceedings as MEPs head to Strasbourg for one of their regular plenary sessions.
Ms Kaili – an MEP for eight years – was suspended from her duties as one of 14 vice-presidents by president of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola.
She has also been suspended from the parliament’s Socialists and Democrats Group, and expelled from the Greek centre-left Pasok party.
Prosecutors in Greece have reportedly frozen all of Ms Kaili’s assets.
Watchdogs and opposition MEPs said the bribery investigation could represent one of the biggest corruption scandals in European Parliament history.
Michiel van Hulten, a former MEP and director of anti-corruption organisation Transparency International EU, said: “While this may be the most egregious case of alleged corruption the European Parliament has seen in many years, it is not an isolated incident.
“Over many decades, the parliament has allowed a culture of impunity to develop, with a combination of lax financial rules and controls and a complete lack of independent – or indeed any – ethics oversight. In many ways it has become a law unto itself.”
On Monday, Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban appeared to mock the EU after the allegations surfaced.
“Good morning to the European Parliament,” Orban wrote on Twitter alongside a 1981 photo of former US presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush in a group of people laughing.
The text over the photo, which is commonly used as a meme, reads: “And then they said the EP is seriously concerned about corruption in Hungary” – a reference to the European Commission’s recommendation to freeze €13bn ($13.7bn) in funds earmarked for Hungary.
Ms von der Leyen said confidence in European institutions required the highest ethical standards.
“The allegations against the vice-president of the European Parliament are of utmost concern, very serious,” she said.
“It is a question of confidence of people into our institutions, and this confidence of trust into our institutions needs higher standards.”
Earlier EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, speaking to reporters as he arrived at a meeting of EU foreign ministers, said: “Certainly the news is very, very worrisome.
“We are facing some events, some facts, that certainly worries me as a former president of the European Parliament.”
Meanwhile Terry Reintke, who co-chairs the Green bloc in parliament, has called for Ms Kaili’s immediate resignation.
“We shouldn’t even have to remove her from her vice president position,” the German MEP said. “This should be done by her proactively.”
Prosecutors said they suspected a Gulf state had been influencing economic and political decisions of the parliament for several months, especially by targeting aides.
Local media has named the state as Qatar, though the Qatari government said any claims of misconduct were “gravely misinformed”.
Ms Kaili’s responsibilities as vice-president include the Middle East. She has been a defender of Qatar in the past.
Ms Metsola flew from her native Malta to Brussels on Saturday evening to witness the searching of an MEP’s house – as is required by the Belgian constitution.
Her spokesman said the European Parliament “stands firmly against corruption” and is “fully cooperating” with investigators.
The European Parliament is the EU’s only directly-elected institution. Some 705 members of parliament, elected by voters in the 27 nations which make up the EU, meet to scrutinise proposed legislation and vote through European law.