Belgian MEP Marc Tarabella did not declare a trip paid for by Qatar, his lawyer acknowledged this Sunday, a few days after his colleague Marie Arena reported a similar “oversight” concerning a stay in the emirate, in the middle of the alleged corruption scandal in the Eurochamber.
After indicting four people for alleged corruption in favor of Qatar, the Belgian judicial authorities requested that Tarabella’s immunity be lifted, close to Pier-Antonio Panzeri, a former Italian MEP at the center of the case, and at the home of whom the seized 600,000 euros (about $650,000) in cash.
Tarabella, whose address was also searched, denies any complicity, but the Socialist MEP admits having made a trip paid for by Qatar in February 2020 that he did not declare before Parliament, as he should have done.
“He was invited to a congress. It is the organization that paid,” said his lawyer Maxim Töller on the Belgian channel RTL. “He has not declared it yet (…). He then left for Ghana, later he had covid. His collaborator reminds him to do so, but the deadline expired,” he explained.
“He is going to regularize things (…). There is nothing illegal in having a trip paid for by an organization,” insisted the lawyer, who stressed that the deputy “went to see the construction of the stadiums and asked to meet with workers”.
Marc Tarabella highlighted in November in the chamber “the positive evolution” of rights in Qatar, in the name of “realpolitik” and as “encouragement”, according to Maxim Töller.
On Wednesday, Belgian MEP Marie Arena also acknowledged failing to declare a mission to Qatar in May 2022 paid for by the emirate.
Arena blamed her secretary for “oversight” and spoke of a “quite complicated document to fill out,” according to statements to the Belgian press.
Arena later resigned as her chair of the European Parliament’s Human Rights subcommittee, a position previously held by Pier-Antonio Panzeri.
On January 2, the European Parliament announced the start of a procedure to lift the immunity of two MEPs. Although he did not disclose their names, sources close to the investigation informed AFP that they are the Italian representative Andrea Cozzolino and Tarabella.
Both are in the crosshairs of the investigation that led Belgian officials to arrest one of the institution’s vice-presidents, Greek Socialist MEP Eva Kaili, on December 9.
Her partner, the Italian Francesco Giorgi – who is also Cozzolino’s parliamentary assistant -, the former MEP Panzeri and a leader of an NGO, Niccolo Figa-Talamanca, were also among those arrested.
This article is originally published on rfi.fr
