Two MEPs will lose immunity over Qatargate case

Brussels. The European Parliament reported on Monday that it initiated a procedure to suspend the immunity of two of its members following a request from the Belgian court investigating a corruption scandal between the European Union and Qatar.

Two sources close to the investigation told Reuters that the two MEPs were Belgian Marc Tarabella and Italian Andrea Cozzolino.

His partner, the Italian Francesco Giorgi, who is also Cozzolino’s parliamentary assistant, the former Italian Socialist MEP Pier-Antonio Panzeri, and an NGO leader, Niccolo Figa-Talamanca, were also among those arrested.

The four have been accused of “membership of a criminal organization”, “money laundering” and “corruption” in a scandal that has shocked the European Parliament and sparked tensions between Qatar and the EU.

“Following a request from the Belgian judicial authorities, I have started an urgent procedure to waive the immunity of two members of the European Parliament,” Parliament Speaker Roberta Metsola said on Twitter. “There will be no impunity. None.”

Tarabella’s lawyer, Maxim Toller, said his client was in favor of removing his immunity. Tarabella had previously denied any wrongdoing, saying in a statement that he had “absolutely nothing to hide” and would “answer all questions from investigators.”

Cozzolino did not respond to Reuters’ attempts to contact him. Last month, he told Italian news agencies that he was not under investigation at the time. “I have not been questioned. They have not searched me or sealed my office,” he said then.

Qatargate

In December, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters that Francesco Giorgi, one of the main suspects in the investigation along with his partner, ousted European Parliament vice-president Eva Kaili, confessed to receiving bribes from Qatar to influence decisions. of the European Parliament on that country.

Giorgi, an EU parliamentary aide, said he suspected Tarabella and Cozzolino had received money from Qatar.

The investigation of this plot, known as “Qatargate”, led to twenty raids between December 9 and 12, even carried out within the European Parliament. Marc Tarabella’s home was inspected on December 10, a judicial source said.