Georgian Parliament Speaker on EEAS raids: corruption appears commonplace within European institutions

Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Tuesday commented on the recent raids in Brussels and Bruges, describing corruption as a persistent issue in the European Commission and other EU bodies.

In his remarks, Papuashvili highlighted previous cases involving EU officials and emphasised that internal EU bodies had failed to prevent corruption.

“There is nothing surprising here. This is not the first scandal involving the European Commission and various EU bodies. We have seen cases against the Justice Commissioner, cases involving Members of the European Parliament. So, the Belgian police have many cases in this regard, because we see that the internal structures of the EU cannot ensure that corruption does not exist within European institutions”, he said.

The Speaker connected these developments to concerns in Georgia regarding opaque foreign funding of NGOs, claiming that favouritism and patronage may influence the distribution of resources.

“We, of course, have suspicions about many issues and have repeatedly said that hidden funding of NGOs in Georgia provides fertile ground for corruption. Naturally, there is a suspicion of corruption when funding occurs secretly in Georgia for various organisations. Among other things, the desire for opacity and secrecy may serve to erase traces of corruption and prevent evidence from being exposed to the public, which might show that, for example, funding distribution in Georgia occurs with bias. Favouritism exists”, he noted.

“There are specific groups, and this has been discussed frequently, including by Georgian NGOs that are not part of the millionaire NGO circle. Ask them as well - it’s an open secret that several wealthy NGOs, like Transparency, ISFED, and similar organisations, not only monopolised foreign funding but were among those whose approval certain donors required in order for smaller NGOs to receive funding”, the Speaker continued.

Papuashvili further added that there was suspicion that hidden NGO funding in Georgia was connected to corrupt schemes.

“So, of course, there is suspicion that hidden NGO funding in Georgia was connected to corrupt schemes, where money is distributed not based on need or merit but through patronage, favouritism, and possibly even to facilitate illegal income”, Papuashvili concluded.

The raids in Brussels and Bruges were carried out by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office at the College of Europe in Bruges and the European External Action Service in Brussels.

Three suspects were detained, including Federica Mogherini, former EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, according to Belgian media.