Qatargate puts young MEP network EU40 under microscope Eva Kaili’s shadow

Politico has published an article arguing that several MEPs have left the group, once chaired by Eva Kaili, alleging it had become an influence shop for tech companies. Caliber.Az reprints the article.

When Belgian investigators arrested Greek politician Eva Kaili in a cash-for-influence corruption probe at the European Parliament last December, the focus turned to her many associates in the Brussels bubble, and on its culture of extravagant lobbying.

Among them were members of a networking group for young MEPs called EU40, whose president since 2019 was none other than the glamorous Greek MEP.

EU40 swiftly suspended Kaili as news of the Qatargate scandal broke last December. Some MEPs and other associates of the group severed ties with it, claiming they were listed as members without their knowledge or permission. The group, however, is still active and has recently restarted a busy events program according to its website and social media output.

There is no indication that EU40 has been involved in any illegal activity. But former members who spoke to POLITICO painted a picture of a club where large corporate sponsors could pay for access to lawmakers who trended young, tech-savvy, influential — and perhaps naive. Many MEPs were happy to be wined, dined and lobbied for more than a decade. When allegations surfaced that Kaili had accepted a six-figure bribe, many scrambled for the exit.

“Their official pitch is: ‘You sponsor me, I organize an event for you’ … The unofficial pitch is: ‘You sponsor me, I give you access to this or that MEP, I invite this or that person’,” said an industry source who worked with EU40 and who isn't authorized by their employer to speak on the record. 

An archive of EU40’s website from December showed 71 lawmakers listed in its “network" and six on its board. The website now shows just 56 members; where once there were details of an MEP-heavy “board” presided over by Kaili, the website now just shows three “staff”: Adam Mouchtar and two junior employees. Mouchtar said that a “new board” will be unveiled following a “phase of reorganization.”

In 2007, Mouchtar, a Brussels lifer who has served at least a dozen MEPs in a 10-year career in Parliament and currently works as an assistant for four of them, co-founded the group that would become EU40.

Back then the group was a non-profit called the Campaign for Parliamentary Reform with a mission to make the Parliament “more transparent, effective and responsible," according to its statute. Access was limited to young MEPs who paid up to €2,000 a year for membership. It grew out of an informal gathering of young lawmakers who threw parties and organized “fun” activities, Mouchtar told POLITICO.

In 2010, the group changed its name and its business model. A new “associated membership” tier was created for corporations, which would pay a yearly fee of up to €30,000, according to EU40’s statute (the current fee is €17,000, Mouchtar said). MEPs under 40 would become members free of charge, and some of them would be proposed by Mouchtar to serve on EU40’s board.

The game had changed: Young MEPs, who started out as the customer, had become the product.

From then on, MEPs were “shown off at the events” whose theme was decided by corporate sponsors, said a former EU40 employee, requesting anonymity to speak candidly about a former employer. Big business “could host networking dinners, give speeches” under EU40’s banner and choose which MEPs would sit next to their executives, the employee recounted. Mouchtar denies that, saying that corporate members can only suggest events but the final decisions “are in the hands of MEPs that host the events.”

EU40’s website shows corporate members include US tech giants Google and Microsoft, pharmaceutical companies AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson and Chinese tech companies Huawei and TikTok. The website states: “Our mission is to serve young Members under the age of 40 and strengthen their role inside the European Parliament.”

An archive of EU40’s website from December showed 71 lawmakers listed in its “network" and six on its board

Mouchtar said that EU40 started to rely on corporate sponsors to add more structure to what he saw as a useful support network for MEPs. “MEPs [on the board] were of the opinion that MEP contributions alone would be insufficient to run the network professionally and would additionally decrease the number of MEPs who would be willing to join,” he said.

He added that he draws no financial compensation from the group — except a company car, a phone, and bills for work-related meals. Yet he appears to enjoy the side-gig: in late 2021 he and his EU40 colleague Alessandro Da Rold launched the “European Smart Village Forum” alongside Slovenian MEP Frank Bogovic, which shared an address and corporate structure with EU40.

Rush for the doors

In April, Da Rold left his position as managing director. He had been a salaried employee since 2019 and since September 2022, had simultaneously served as a paid advisor to Kaili, according to transparency website ParlTrack.

Some MEPs say they weren’t aware that they were showcased on EU40’s website as part of its “network.” Niklas Nienass, a German from the Greens — who used to employ Mouchtar as an assistant — told POLITICO that when he found his name on EU40’s website in December, he personally asked Mouchtar to take it down. 

“I told him: EU40 is not for me — not because of Eva [Kaili], but just because of the way they do all of their events with private entities,” Nienass said. He said he had asked Mouchtar for “written proof” that he had requested to join EU40, and that Mouchtar couldn’t produce it. 

Tiemo Wölken, a German Social-Democrat lawmaker, also said he was featured on the website without ever joining EU40, though he did attend some events. “I quickly realized its main goal was not connecting young MEPs, but organizing sponsored events. It was more useful for industry than for MEPs. There was no added value for us,” he told POLITICO.

Mouchtar said that EU40 didn’t then have any “formal membership documents for MEPs" in keeping “with our image and allure of being a young and easy-going network … MEPs were asked orally if they were interested in being part of the organization, and if [they] agreed to join, they were added to the website.” The group has “learned from the mistake” and will soon shift to a documented enrollment process, he added.

Bouncing back

EU40 appears to have stabilized in recent months. It has kept quiet about Kaili’s role, issuing nothing beyond a laconic statement in December that it had “temporarily” suspended her.

In late April it began a busy calendar of events chaired by MEPs, following a hiatus of several months, its website shows; chirpy Twitter and Instagram accounts boost its members. 

And some MEPs seem to have forgotten their qualms. In January, a spokesperson for Portuguese S&D lawmaker Sara Cerdas told POLITICO she had stepped down from the EU40 board “because our office’s priorities at the moment were not aligned with [it].” On April 27, she hosted an EU40 event.