Corruption scandal: MEPs lift Cozzolino and Tarabella’s immunities

Andrea Cozzolino and Marc Tarabella, two MEPs caught up within the corruption scandal rocking Brussels, had their parliamentary immunities lifted on Thursday.

The vote within the plenary in Brussels follows a request by the Belgian Federal Public Prosecutor’s Workplace on 16 January and comes two days after the European Parliament’s authorized affairs committee backed the movement.

Each MEPs deny any involvement within the illicit lobbying allegedly performed by Qatar by Morocco. 

Italian MEP Cozzolino was not current for the vote however Tarabella, from Belgium, voted to have his immunity waived.

“I’ve been asking for the lifting of this immunity for the reason that very first days of this affair so as to have the ability to reply the questions of the investigators and to assist the justice system to make clear this case,” he advised reporters after the vote.

“Out of respect for the judicial authorities and for the work of the investigation, I avoided commenting on the accusations within the press. It was very tempting to reply to them, particularly as I’m harmless, however I’ve not but expressed myself and I cannot accomplish that once more in the present day as a way to reserve the primary a part of my explanations to the choose. In any case, you must know that I’ve nothing to reproach myself for,” he added.

4 individuals have been arrested and charged for taking part in a legal organisation as a part of the investigation into the alleged cash-for-favours scheme within the European Parliament.

These embody Greek MEP Eva Kaili, her life associate Francesco Giorgi, former MEP Pier Antonio Panzeri, and NGO director Niccolò Figà-Talamanca.

Panzeri, who preceded Cozzolino on the helm of the EU-Morocco parliamentary committee, implicated each males throughout his hearings with Belgian authorities since his arrest in early December, in response to a confidential doc seen by Euronews.

He advised a choose, the doc states, that Cozzolino agreed to attempt to squash resolutions towards Morroco in alternate for cash and that Tarabella — the vice chair of the European Parliament’s delegation for relations with the Arab peninsula — obtained between €120,000 and €140,000 in money to help sure positions in favour of Qatar.

French MEP Manon Aubry, co-leader of the Left group and the rapporteur on the votes, welcomed the outcomes of the ballots.

“With this investigation, justice is doing its half. However politics is not. The President of Parliament and the primary teams have betrayed the promise of formidable reforms made within the decision adopted in December and the “14-point motion plan” introduced as an alternative by Roberta Metsola is a sham,” she added.