Following the EU corruption scandal, the EU Parliament today lifted the immunity of two MPs. This step paves the way for investigations into Belgian lawmaker Marc Tarabella and Italian lawmaker Andrea Cozzolino. Both politicians were until recently members of the Socialist Group.
The Belgian public prosecutor had asked for their immunity to be waived. Tarabella and Cozzolino maintain their innocence.
In December, the EU Parliament was rocked by the corruption scandal involving then-Vice-President Eva Kaili. She lost her job on suspicion of corruption.
The judiciary accused Kaili and other suspects, currently in custody, of involvement in criminal organization, money laundering and corruption. This is supposed to influence political decisions in Qatar and Morocco.
Good money for influencers
In the report of the commission responsible in parliament, Cozzolino is suspected, among other things, of having reached an agreement with others in 2019 to oppose parliamentary decisions that could harm the interests of certain states. They say he got paid for it.
A report by the Committee on Legal Affairs says Tarabella is suspected of having represented certain positions in the European Parliament on behalf of a third country over the past two years. According to the testimony of a witness, he received about 120,000-140,000 euros for this.