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?
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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]