Fanpage.it – He would not be investigated by the Belgian police, but Francesco Giorgi would have mentioned the name of Andrea Cozzolino, of whom he is currently parliamentary assistant. If Giorgi’s statements are confirmed by the investigations of the investigators, he would be the first Italian MEP in office involved in Qatargate.
Another name pops up in the Qatargate investigation. It is that of the Italian MEP Andrea Cozzolino. He would not be investigated by the Belgian police, but to mention him would have been Francesco Giorgi, whoconfessed to investigators to be part of an organization conditioned by Qatar and Morocco to interfere in European affairs. A multi-million euro round that is literally upsetting the European Parliament.
According to the Belgian press, around 60 MEPs are involved. Giorgi, at the time he was arrested, was holding the position of parliamentary assistant for Cozzolino; previously it had also been for Antonio Panzeri, during his mandate in Strasbourg, who was also arrested. Giorgi would also have mentioned the name of Marc Tarabella, another MEP under the lens of investigators. Cozzolino, for his part, defends himself. “I am ready to protect my history and my honour in every place,” the MEP said in a statement.
And again: “I am deeply outraged by the judicial events that I learn from the press and that strongly undermine the credibility of the European institutions”. For now there would be no investigations against him, but if what Giorgi said were to be confirmed in the investigations of the investigators, he would be the first Italian MEP, a member of the socialists and the Democratic Party, to be involved.
Meanwhile, the European Parliament has approved a resolution on the Qatargate case, on “suspected corruption and, more generally, the need for transparency and accountability in the European institutions”. A document in which the European Parliament says it is willing to cooperate with the investigators to make full clarity. The EU Parliament expresses “dismay and deep concern at alleged acts of corruption, money laundering and participation in a criminal organisation by MEPs, former MEPs and staff of the European Parliament in exchange for influence on Parliament’s decisions; supports Parliament’s full cooperation with ongoing criminal investigations; notes with concern that the internal monitoring and alert mechanisms of the EU institutions have dramatically failed to detect ongoing corruption”.
And, attacking the emirate for trying to influence the European institutions, the European Parliament “deeply deplores the fact that the decisions on Qatar taken by the committees and the Plenary have probably been altered by corruption and undue influence, including the resolution of 24 November 2022 on the situation of human rights in the context of the World Cup. FIFA in Qatar; regrets that this has led to a lack of ambition in defending the human rights of the thousands of migrant workers who have died on construction sites and of the hundreds of thousands of people whose fundamental rights are trampled underfoot in Qatar”.
MEPs in the adopted resolution therefore call for “the establishment of a special committee to identify potential shortcomings in the European Parliament’s rules on transparency, integrity and corruption and to make proposals for reform, building on the work of the Committee on Constitutional Affairs and best practices in other parliaments.”.
Even the Democratic Party, meanwhile, has moved: “Secretary Enrico Letta has asked the National Guarantee Commission of the Democratic Party to meet with the utmost urgency. This is in order to take the most appropriate decisions, to guarantee the integrity of the community of democrats and to protect the same exponents involved, so that they are more free to present their reasons and provide the clarifications that will be requested by the investigating authorities. The Democratic Party confirms that it is an injured party in this matter and will act accordingly in all judicial forums”, the Dem said.
