Immunity step in AP corruption investigation

In the corruption investigation related to the European Parliament (EP) in Belgium, the decision to “remove immunity” was taken in the vote held in the relevant parliamentary committee to lift the immunity of two MEPs.

In its closed-door meeting, the EP Legal Affairs Committee discussed the request to lift the immunity of the deputies, the Italian parliamentarian Andrea Cozzolino and the Belgian Marc Tarabella, who were mentioned in the investigation for corruption.

The French deputy Manon Aubry, a member of the commission that prepared the reports on the request of both deputies, announced that the commission unanimously decided to lift their immunity. In her statement at the end of the meeting, Aubry said: “Never before has the committee made a decision so quickly. We wanted to act quickly so that justice can be served as soon as possible.”

For the immunity of Cozzolino and Tarabella to be lifted, the reports on the two deputies must also be voted on in the EP General Assembly. The vote is expected to take place on Thursday and be approved by the general assembly by a large majority.

Tarabella and Cozzolino have previously stated through their lawyers that they are innocent.

THE CORRUPTION SCANDAL THAT SHAPED EUROPE

In the framework of the investigation for corruption, bribery and money laundering carried out by the Belgian authorities, in December last year searches were carried out at many points, 1.5 million euros in cash were seized and 4 people were arrested .

The detainees were announced to be Greek MEP Eva Kaili, whose EP vice-president was sacked, Italian former EP MEP Pier Antonio Panzeri, Kaili’s boyfriend Francesco Giorgi, who was working as an EP assistant, and Niccolo Figa-Talamanca, director of the non-governmental organization that works for the rule of law.

In Giorgi’s statement, two MEPs, Andrea Cozzolino and Marc Tarabella, were alleged to have said he received money from Panzeri. The president of the EP, Roberta Metsola, started the process to lift the immunity of Cozzolino and Tarabella.

It was alleged that these individuals accepted bribes from a Gulf country to influence the economic and political decisions of the European Parliament. Qatar, which was mentioned in the news on the matter, denied the allegations.

Later in the news, it was claimed that Morocco bribed these people as well and that Moroccan intelligence and the Moroccan ambassador in Warsaw, Abderrahim Atmoun, met with the suspects. (AA)