• 6 months ago
In this edition of State of the Union, we look at NATO celebrating its 75th anniversary against the backdrop of growing Russian hybrid warfare. Another topic is corruption in Europe - did politicians learn their lesson?
Transcript
00:00 Hello and welcome to State of the Union.
00:07 I'm Stefan Grobe in Brussels.
00:10 We had a big birthday party in town this week.
00:13 NATO marked its 75th anniversary.
00:16 Congratulations!
00:18 There will be a real celebration in Washington in the summer, but the event was deemed so
00:23 important that top officials came to Brussels for the occasion and for a small party.
00:30 And there was one special guest who traveled all the way from the archives of the United
00:34 States government to NATO headquarters.
00:38 The original North Atlantic Treaty.
00:40 A historic document that solidified 75 years of collective defense across Europe and North
00:46 America.
00:48 The anniversary came as the alliance discussed plans to provide more predictable longer-term
00:53 military support to Ukraine.
00:55 So we need to shift the dynamics of our support.
01:00 We must ensure reliable and predictable security assistance to Ukraine for the long haul.
01:08 So that we rely less on voluntary contributions and more on NATO commitments.
01:15 Less on short-term offers and more on multi-year pledges.
01:21 At the NATO meeting, participants also discussed Russia's aggressive behavior in terms of
01:26 hybrid warfare, directed not only against Ukraine but against the European peace order
01:32 in general.
01:33 Vladimir Putin, Germany's foreign minister, said, "Aims to undermine and erode our democracies
01:40 in Europe from within."
01:41 We must not be naive there.
01:45 What we have seen in recent years were not coincidences, but targeted destabilization
01:50 in different European countries with disinformation, with cyber attacks.
01:56 The reason why she went after Putin is a brewing scandal known in early reports as "Russiagate."
02:03 Politicians from several EU countries stand accused of being bribed by Moscow to parrot
02:08 the Kremlin's talking points.
02:10 The idea is to sway EU public opinion ahead of the European elections in June.
02:16 A right-wing lawmaker from Germany has allegedly accepted 25,000 euro to do just this.
02:23 If this isn't textbook corruption, then I don't know what is.
02:29 Joining me now is a man who knows a thing or two about corruption, Nikolas Ayosa, director
02:34 of Transparency International EU.
02:36 Welcome to the program.
02:37 Thank you very much for having me.
02:39 So if you look at the last term of the European Parliament, especially with the Qatargate
02:44 scandal, has corruption in the EU become a bigger problem than it was before?
02:49 I don't think it has become bigger.
02:51 I think it's become more brazen.
02:53 I mean, the fact that we have sitting MEPs, ex-MEPs, and EU staff members walking around
03:00 with suitcases of cash as if they can operate without fear of consequences is a real problem.
03:06 And I think that that has become a problem because the institutions haven't taken the
03:10 necessary reforms on their ethical and anti-corruption frameworks.
03:15 The institutions, particularly the council, hasn't adopted the anti-corruption directive.
03:20 And the Commission needs to more rigorously use the preventative and punitive tools that
03:24 they have at their disposal to fight corruption.
03:27 And until those things happen, I think it will only get worse.
03:29 On that note, there's still no independent oversight and monitoring of the conduct of
03:33 members of Parliament.
03:35 Why hasn't the institution been more serious about reform?
03:39 Because I'm afraid that there's been a culture of impunity that has been allowed to fester
03:43 for decades that has prevented the necessary reforms in the wake of the scandal.
03:48 There remains no, as you say, independent oversight on their ethical behavior.
03:52 And when there are violations of the rules, there's no sanctions that are put into place,
03:57 and they're not strong enough to serve as a deterrent.
03:59 And that culture will unfortunately remain until some of those reforms are put in place.
04:04 There are obviously huge differences when it comes to corruption in the member states.
04:09 How did that play out over the last five years?
04:12 Has this become a real threat to democracy?
04:15 Yes.
04:17 Corruption and the erosion of rule of law is always a threat to democracy.
04:20 And unfortunately, over, I would say, the last 10 years, we have seen a steady decline
04:25 in certain member states when it comes to rule of law and the ability to fight corruption.
04:30 I think one of the main problems, despite some recent improvements in the toolbox of
04:35 the Commission being able to tackle this, is that they have been too apprehensive and
04:39 too skittish about using those tools to address situations in the member states.
04:44 I do want to end on a positive note.
04:47 How confident are you that the political class in Europe has learned its lesson?
04:53 I'm not sure I'm going to be able to give you that positive note, unfortunately.
04:58 I'm not as confident, particularly in the last year, than I would want to be at this
05:03 stage.
05:04 I just simply don't think that the Parliament, at least, understood the gravity of the scandal.
05:09 And their response to it was ultimately weak and meager.
05:12 When it came to the vote, very weak and meager adjustments to the rules were ultimately agreed.
05:20 They didn't tackle the structural problems when it comes to independent oversight or
05:23 sanctions.
05:24 I mean, we still have MEPs that are walking around with very lucrative side jobs with
05:29 companies that are lobbying the same institutions, and they find this entirely normal.
05:34 I think they're doing themselves and the reputation of the Parliament grave harm.
05:38 And unfortunately, in an election year, there is still perhaps time to turn that around,
05:41 and I hope they use this next eight weeks to do so.
05:44 All right, Nicolas Ayosa, Director of Transparency, International EU.
05:48 Thanks so much for coming on the show today.
05:51 Thank you very much for having me.
05:54 Before we go, here's an episode from the Department of Unintended Consequences, and a message
06:01 for fans of white asparagus, like me.
06:05 The effects of climate change now have it that the harvest time for this noble vegetable
06:10 is starting earlier and earlier.
06:13 Potentially good news, as this means you can enjoy asparagus more.
06:18 In Europe, it is mainly grown in Germany, Spain and Italy, and usually cut with the
06:23 help of seasonal workers.
06:25 But at the same time, it has become increasingly difficult for asparagus farmers to keep those
06:30 seasonal workers over a longer period.
06:33 This is bad news because it leads to a continuous decline in cultivation areas, with Germany
06:39 alone losing 30 to 40 asparagus farms per year.
06:44 So enjoy asparagus while it's still around, and don't get annoyed by its high price at
06:50 the farmers market.
06:53 That's it for this edition.
06:54 I'm Stefan Grobe.
06:55 Thank you for watching.
06:56 Have an excellent week.
06:58 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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