After Qatar, Morocco? As revelations about a possible corruption case involving MEPs and Qatar continue to rock the European Parliament, another country harbors suspicions. It is about Morocco, which could also be involved in this scandal.
A “very strong bond” between an Italian MEP and Morocco
The liaison between Qatar and Morocco is Antonio Panzeri, a former Italian MEP, currently imprisoned in Brussels for the “Qatargate” affair. In a confidential 2011 note obtained by BFMTV, the Moroccan ambassador raises the issue of Western Sahara. This territory illegally occupied by Rabat would be the subject of a “strong request from the European Parliament”.
“The best way to manage this pressure is to channel it through Antonio Panzeri. On this issue, Antonio Panzeri has started methodical work since his election at the head of the Maghreb delegation, ”says the ambassador.
For ten years, the MEP continued to regularly defend Morocco’s interests within the European institution. Ana Gomes, a former MEP, claims to have been a direct witness to these practices.
“Mr. Panzieri’s commitment to defend Morocco’s point of view, to counter the campaign for human rights (…) made me suspect that there was a very strong link with Morocco,” the former Portuguese MEP estimates to BFMTV.
700,000 euros found in cash
Several elements support the suspicions of corruption of the MEP. On the one hand, during the search carried out at his home in Brussels, the police seized 700,000 euros in cash. A good part comes from Morocco, according to the confessions of the MEP’s assistant, Francesco Giorgi.
In addition, the wiretaps of Antonio Panzieri’s wife show that she received money from Rabat thanks to Abderrahim Atmoune. A great friend of the Italian, then a parliamentarian and who has now become the Moroccan ambassador to Poland.
A French MEP adviser to the King of Morocco?
In addition to Antonio Panzieri, other MEPs have had close links with Morocco. One of them is French, it is Gilles Pargneaux, Socialist MEP until 2019.
President of the EU-Morocco friendship group, he multiplied the trips paid for by Morocco, to which he invited other deputies. On his Facebook account, the images show the deputy receiving gifts.
“It was really embarrassing, because he was not ashamed to present himself in Parliament as adviser to His Majesty the King (of Morocco),” when he was a French MEP, says Ana Gomes. “He was defending Morocco’s positions all the time,” she adds.
gifts and honors
Gilles Pargneaux has received repeated decorations from the Moroccan authorities, and in particular from Western Sahara, which openly thanked the EU-Morocco friendship group for their services.
“It is a distinction that demonstrates the interest that His Majesty the King pays above all to parliamentary action and the action of this fantastic team that defends our vital interests before international organizations,” Mohamed Cheikh Biadillah, adviser to the King of Morocco, told Moroccan television. Morocco, during one of these ceremonies.
After leaving the European Parliament in 2019, Gilles Pargneaux maintained ties to Morocco, having founded an NGO with Mohamed Cheikh Biadillah. He also works for a Brussels lobbying firm whose main client is none other than Morocco.
Source: BFM TV
