The European Parliament is starting the procedure for the lifting of the parliamentary immunity of two of its members, following a request from the Belgian judicial authorities. This is reported by the cabinet of European Parliament President Roberta Metsola.
The president of the parliament does not mention names, but according to the Italian newspaper ‘La Repubblica’ it concerns Marc Tarabella and Andrea Cozzolino. Both Social Democrats have already been mentioned in connection with Qatargate, the investigation into corruption in the European Parliament.
President Metsola will announce the request for the waiver of immunity in plenary as soon as possible, on 16 January, after which the request will be forwarded to the Parliament’s Committee on Legal Affairs. That committee must then appoint a rapporteur, who must study the files and submit them to the committee. He can also hear both members of parliament, after which the committee must submit a proposal to the full parliament to lift or not to lift the immunity.
Parliament votes on the abolition by a simple majority. If it is approved, the president immediately communicates this decision to the relevant members of parliament and the competent national authority, in this case the Belgian federal prosecutor’s office. President Metsola has asked all relevant services to give priority to the procedure concerning Taraballa and Cozzolino, so that it can be completed by 13 February.
“From the beginning, the European Parliament has done everything in its power to cooperate with this investigation,” said President Metsola. “We will continue to do so to ensure that this does not go unpunished. Those responsible will notice that this parliament is on the side of the law. Corruption should not pay off and we will do everything we can to combat it.”
Tarabella will support the demand to lift his immunity. According to his lawyer, he does not want to hide behind his immunity. “Marc Tarabella has been reiterating since the opening of this file that he is at the disposal of the court,” said his lawyer Maxim Toller. “He even asked to be questioned quickly in order to defend himself. He has also always said that he would not hide behind his immunity, because he has nothing to reproach himself with.”
House searches
The requests to waive the parliamentary immunity of Tarabella and Cozzolino are part of an investigation by the federal prosecutor into attempts by the Gulf state of Qatar to influence the economic and political decision-making of the European Parliament by informing people with a political and/or strategic position within pay large sums of money or offer substantial gifts to the European Parliament. Morocco is also mentioned in the investigation, with possible corruption by its intelligence agency DGED and the Moroccan ambassador to Poland, Abderrahim Atmoun.
In that investigation, a series of house searches were carried out on December 9 and six people were arrested. They were former Italian MEP Pier Antonio Panzeri, Brussels-Italian lobbyist Nicolo Figa-Talamanca, Eva Kaili, the former Vice-President of the European Parliament, Kaili’s partner Francesco Giorgi, her father and trade unionist Luca Visentini. Panzeri, Giorgi, Kaili and Figa-Talamanca were placed under arrest, while Visentini and Kaili’s father were released.
Investigators of the federal judicial police seized 1.5 million euros during the house searches. In Panzeri’s house, 700,000 euros in cash was seized, while Eva Kaili’s father was arrested at his hotel with a suitcase full of banknotes worth about 600,000 euros. Kaili herself is said to have had around 150,000 euros in her possession.
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