EU lawmakers replace disgraced VP as suspect overturns plea deal
Content of the article
STRASBOURG, France (AP) — European Union lawmakers voted Wednesday to replace a disgraced former deputy speaker of parliament after a key suspect in the money-for-influence scandal that rocked the EU assembly negotiated a plea deal with prosecutors, which raises the possibility of more people being named.
Content of the article
Former European Parliament vice-president Eva Kaili has been removed from her post after being taken into police custody early last month on charges of corruption, money laundering and membership of a criminal organisation.
Content of the article
Lawmakers held a secret ballot in Strasbourg, France, to choose from three running mates. They chose Marc Angel from Luxembourg, who belongs to the same centre-left political group, the Socialists and Democrats (S&D), as Kaili.
The corruption scandal linked to Qatar and Morocco has ravaged the S&D group, the second largest group in the EU. Kaili was in charge of the Middle East, but parliament speaker Roberta Metsola wants to appoint an anti-corruption vice-president to fix the assembly’s tarnished image. It is unknown if Angel would receive such a portfolio.
Content of the article
Belgian prosecutors suspect that Kaili; former MP Pier Antonio Panzeri; Francesco Georgi, partner of Kaili and friend of Panzeri; and Niccolo Figa-Talamanca, head of the charity group No Peace Without Justice, were paid by Qatar and Morocco to influence decision-making at the assembly. Both countries deny the allegations.
The federal prosecutor’s office said Tuesday that Panzeri had agreed to become an informant and reveal more information about the scandal in exchange for a lighter sentence. He pledged to tell investigators the names of those involved and the financial arrangements made with other countries.
Several EU lawmakers and officials have said the corruption allegations are the most damning to hit parliament. The S&D has been the main target and its members fear things will get worse.
Content of the article
Panzeri’s lawyer avoided reporters as he left Brussels’ main courthouse on Tuesday, but later, in an interview with Belgian radio RTBF, said the 67-year-old Italian would likely only receive now a five-year suspended sentence, with one year to serve. in prison.
The lawyer, Laurent Kennes, said Panzeri would also be fined 80,000 euros and should drop the estimate of one million euros which prosecutors suspect he earned through his corruption cases .
Panzeri “wants to talk, to empty his chest. He’s vulnerable, he’s locked up, he’s depressed,” Kennes said. “In these circumstances, he wants to be able to see the light at the end of the tunnel.”
The scandal came to public attention on December 9 after police launched more than 20 raids, mostly in Belgium but also in Italy. Hundreds of thousands of euros were found in a house and in a suitcase in a hotel in Brussels. Mobile phones, computer equipment and data were seized.
Prosecutors also suspect Panzeri’s wife and daughter of involvement in the scheme and have issued arrest warrants to have them surrendered by Italian authorities.