An influential committee in the European Union parliament voted unanimously on Tuesday to lift the protective immunity of two lawmakers wanted by Belgian authorities for alleged links to a major corruption scandal.
The European Parliament’s legal affairs committee decided by 23 votes to zero and with no abstentions to lift the parliamentary immunity of Belgian legislator Marc Tarabella and Italian Andrea Cozzolino, its president, Adrián Vázquez Lázara, announced on Twitter.
The move clears the way for the full House to vote on removing their protections on Thursday so that the two men, who are members of the center-left Socialists and Democrats (S&D) political group hardest hit by the scandal, can be questioned. by Belgian prosecutors.
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Hundreds of thousands of euros (dollars) were seized in raids in Brussels in December. Four people were charged with corruption, money laundering and membership in a criminal organization for allegedly taking bribes from Qatari and Moroccan officials to influence parliamentary proceedings.
Pier Antonio Panzeri, top, addresses a plenary in Strasbourg, France, March 26, 2019. Panzeri, the alleged ringleader of a European Union corruption scandal linked to Qatar and Morocco, has decided to reveal information about the scandal. in exchange for a lighter. sentence, Belgian prosecutors said on January 17, 2023.
(Marc Dossman/European Parliament via AP)
They are S&D legislator Eva Kaili, who was vice-president of the assembly until the charges came to light; her partner and parliamentary assistant Francesco Giorgi; former S&D MP Pier Antonio Panzeri, and charity leader Niccolo Figa-Talamanca. Qatar and Morocco deny any involvement.
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The prosecutors’ request for parliament to lift the immunity of Tarabella and Cozzolino suggests they could also be charged. Both men deny any wrongdoing and have said they are willing to speak with investigators.
A lawyer for Panzeri’s wife and daughter, who were also wanted for alleged links to one of the biggest scandals in EU history, said on Monday they had been released from house arrest after Belgian authorities abandoned his attempt to transfer them for questioning. .
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The two women have agreed to meet freely with investigators on a date yet to be determined. The decision in Brussels came days after Panzeri agreed to become an informant in exchange for a lighter sentence, pledging to name names and detail financial arrangements with those involved.
