One more file that the European Parliament would have liked to do without. Belgian MEP Marc Tarabella did not declare a trip paid for by Qatar, his lawyer admitted on Sunday, a few days after his colleague Marie Arena reported a similar “oversight” concerning a stay in the emirate, in full scandal of alleged corruption among European elected representatives.
After indicting four people for alleged corruption for the benefit of Qatar, the Belgian judicial authorities requested the waiver of immunity for Marc Tarabella, close to Pier-Antonio Panzeri, a former Italian MEP at the heart of the case, in whom 600 000 euros in cash were seized.
Marc Tarabella, whose home had also been searched, denies any involvement, but the elected socialist admits having made a trip in February 2020 paid for by Qatar without declaring it to Parliament as he had to.
His lawyer points to “the reality on the ground”
“He was invited (…) for a congress. It was the organization that paid, ”said his lawyer Maxim Töller on the Belgian channel RTL. “He has not yet declared it (…). He then went to Ghana, then there was the Covid (…). His collaborator reminds him to do so, but the deadline has passed,” he explained, pointing to “the reality on the ground”.
“He will regularize things (…). There is nothing illegal in having a trip paid for by an organization”, insisted the lawyer, stressing 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 hemicycle “the positive evolution” of rights in Qatar – in the name of “realpolitik” and as “encouragement”, according to Maxim Töller.
The lawyer also tried to explain his client’s “friendship” with Pier-Antonio Panzeri: “He is not a little Italian at the bottom of a trattoria (…). He was elected MEP three times, (he is) a very respected person (…). It is quite possible that he actually advised (Marc Tarabella) to say such a thing”, without the latter “can imagine” that the Italian elected official “would have monetized their friendship”.
Marie Arena pleads “forgetting”
On Wednesday, the Belgian socialist MEP Marie Arena also admitted having failed to declare a mission to Qatar in May 2022, paid for by the emirate, attributing the “oblivion” to her secretariat and evoking “a rather complicated document to complete”, according to his declarations to the Belgian press.
She resigned in the wake of her presidency of the Human Rights sub-committee of the European Parliament, a position previously held by Pier-Antonio Panzeri and from which Marie Arena had retired in December.
“This decision was taken in view of the political and media attacks which harm my image” as well as “all the work carried out within the sub-commission”, she explained to the Belga agency, repeating “have nothing to blame themselves for” and not have been the subject of searches or requests for the waiver of immunity.