Just when the on-field drama of the football finally seemed to be eclipsing everything else coming out of Qatar, the World Cup hosts are back in the headlines for all the wrong reasons. Doha denies any part in the piles of cash uncovered by Belgian police or the arrests that include a vice president of the European parliament. The greasing of the wheels allegedly came as the EU started to ponder visa-free travel to Qatari citizens. Why would the Gulf emirate even want the waiver?
More broadly, we ask our panel about the stain on EU institutions and lobbying rules that apply varyingly to corporations and nations that solicit Brussels decision makers. With big battles of influence raging over everything from Russia's invasion of Ukraine to US big tech's blowback against regulation, what can this scandal teach us?
The scandal breaks as Hungary finds itself in the crosshairs of the Commission over misused EU funds. How to apply universal standards when it comes to ethics and corruption? And can those standards be enforced across 27 nations?
Produced by Charles Wente, Juliette Laurain and Louise Guibert.
