Belgian MEP Marc Tarabella did not declare a trip paid for by Qatar, his lawyer admitted this Sunday, a few days after his colleague Marie Arena denounced a similar “oversight” regarding a stay in the emirate, in the middle of the alleged corruption scandal in the European Union. Parliament.
After indicting four people for alleged corruption for the benefit of Qatar, the Belgian judicial authorities requested the lifting of the immunity of Marc Tarabella, close to Pier-Antonio Panzeri, former Italian MEP at the center of the case, in whom 600,000 euros were deposited in cash. they were seized.
Marc Tarabella, whose address had also been searched, denies any involvement, but the elected socialist admits to having made a trip in February 2020 paid for by Qatar without declaring it to Parliament as he should.
“He was invited (…) to a congress. It was the organization that paid,” his lawyer Maxim Töller told Belgian channel RTL. “He has not declared it yet (…). He then went to Ghana, then there was the Covid (…). His collaborator reminds him to do it, but he missed the deadline, “he explained, pointing to” the reality on the ground “.
“He will regularize things (…). There is nothing illegal about an organization paying for a trip,” insisted the lawyer, who stressed that the elected official “went to see the construction of the stadiums and asked to meet workers”. .
Marc Tarabella had underlined in November in the Chamber “the positive evolution” of the rights in Qatar, in the name of “realpolitik” and as a “stimulus”, according to Maxim Töller. The lawyer also tried to explain the “friendship” of his client with Pier-Antonio Panzeri.
“He is not a small Italian in the back of a trattoria (…). He was elected three times MEP, (he is) someone very respected (…). It is very possible that he actually advised (Marc Tarabella) to say such a thing”, without the latter “being able to imagine” that the chosen Italian “would have monetized their friendship”.
The Belgian socialist MEP Marie Arena also admitted this Wednesday not having declared a mission to Qatar in May 2022, paid for by the emirate, attributing the “oversight” to her secretary and evoking “a rather complicated document to fill out”, according to her statements to the Belgian press.
He resigned as a result of his chairmanship of the European Parliament’s Human Rights subcommittee, a position previously held by Pier-Antonio Panzeri and from which Marie Arena had withdrawn in December.
“This decision was made in view of the political and media attacks that damage my image” as well as “all the work carried out within the subcommittee,” he explained to the Belgian agency, repeating “I have nothing to reproach myself with.” and not have been subject to raids or requests to lift immunity.
Source: BFM TV
