The corruption scandal surrounding the European Parliament is spreading. As was announced on Monday, the Belgian judiciary has applied for the immunity of two MPs to be lifted. According to unanimous reports, these are the Social Democrats Marc Tarabella (Belgium) and Andrea Cozzolino (Italy). Tarabella and Cozzolino are suspected of having received a bribe from Qatar, which they deny. Parliamentary employees of the two were arrested during the spectacular police raid on December 9 in Brussels.
The mastermind behind the scandal is former Social Democrat MEP Antonio Panzeri. After leaving the European Parliament in 2019, he apparently tried to use bribes from Qatar and Morocco to influence parliamentary policy in the interests of both countries. Andrea Cozzolino succeeded his compatriot Panzeri as Chair of Parliament’s Maghreb delegation in 2019. It is seen as a sign of how closely the two worked together that Cozzolino also took over the parliamentary employee Francesco Giorgi, the life partner of Vice President Eva Kaili, who has since been relieved of her office and is in custody.
Tarabella says he feels victim of ‘witch hunt’
Both Giorgi and Panzeri, who are also in custody, apparently accused the two Social Democrats Cozzolino and Tarabella of having received “gifts”, i.e. bribes. In the presence of Parliament President Roberta Metsola, investigators had already searched Marc Tarabella’s apartment on December 10. Tarabella said afterwards that he felt like a victim of a “witch hunt”. He was originally seen in parliament as a major critic of the soccer World Cup in Qatar, but immediately before the start of the World Cup he attracted attention by praising the labor market reforms in Qatar.
President Roberta Metsola will make the request of the Belgian judicial authorities public on 16 January in the plenary session of Parliament, as provided for in the Rules of Procedure. The legal committee then has to deal with it and make a recommendation, which the plenum then decides on with a simple majority. Metsola asked for the process to be prioritized and completed by February 13, the statement said. “From the outset, the European Parliament has done everything in its power to assist the investigation and we will continue to ensure that there will be no impunity,” Metsola said.