Brussels, Belgium. The European Union has constantly pushed the non sense that the key to European prosperity is a lack of corruption. This becomes really difficult to defend, when it emerges that the EU itself is filthy with corruption, in this case bought in Azerbaijan.
The Council of Europe, has launched an investigation into alleged corruption at the council involving Azerbaijan.The criticisms concern members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), accused of corruption for Azerbaijan.
Now there is evidence that Azerbaijan influenced PACE’s rejection of a report on Azeri political prisoners in 2013. Azerbaijan is among the 47 member nations of the Strasbourg-based Council of Europe.
The council monitors compliance with the European Convention on Human Rights, and judges in Strasbourg enforce it. In January 2013 PACE rejected a report by German Social Democrat MP Christoph Strässer, which deplored human rights abuses in Azerbaijan and urged the authorities there to release political prisoners.
Azeri government officials deny that charges against opposition activists are politically motivated. Opponents of President Ilham Aliyev have been jailed on various charges, including tax evasion, spying and weapons possession.
A body of international human rights lawyers will investigate the PACE corruption allegations and will report their findings by the end of 2017. They can recommend action against any PACE members implicated in corruption.
The EU has been pushing anti-corruption reforms upon its eastern european members heavily and news that western european states are just as corrupt, has come as a surprise to those outside of western europe.