The actions recorded in the documents included scheming to kill off six parliamentary resolutions condemning Qatar’s human rights record, and working to deliver a visa-free travel deal between Doha and the EU. All the former MEPs have denied their involvement in the Qatargate scandal.
Gualmini had previously disclosed that she had been in touch with some MEPs and parliamentary aide Francesco Giorgi about the socialist group’s position on Qatar.
“I’ve decided not to follow the line taken by some MEPs and Giorgi,” she told Le Soir’s journalists Louis Collard and Joël Matriche in their book. “I can also confirm that I have never been involved in matters relating to Qatar, Qatari ambassadors, missions to Qatar or Qatari events, and that I absolutely did not know and could not imagine that Francesco Giorgi was campaigning for this state.”
Qatargate first came to light at the end of 2022, when former Socialist MEP Pier Antonio Panzeri, Parliamentary Assistant Giorgi and other key figures such as Vice President of the Parliament Eva Kaili were arrested in a series of dramatic raids involving bags of cash and lurid tales of foreign interference at the heart of EU democracy.
Lengthy procedure
The Belgian authorities will have to wait for the Parliament to go through a lengthy procedure before being able to fully investigate the two new MEPs. The lifting of their immunity will lead Parliament President Metsola to announce the judiciary request at the earliest on Monday during a plenary session.
The European Parliament’s legal affairs committee will then give the two MEPs a chance to say their piece and rubber-stamp the measure before handing it over to the entire plenary of lawmakers for a final vote.
If approved by all MEPs later this month, Belgian authorities will be able to pursue charges against the Socialist lawmakers.
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