Information
European Parliament President Roberta Metsola.
In what was undoubtedly one in all her first orders of enterprise of the brand new 12 months, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola on Monday afternoon launched an pressing process for the waiver of immunity of two Members of the European Parliament following a request from the Belgian judicial authorities.
Metsola has requested all providers and committees concerned to present the process precedence with a view to having it concluded by 13 February.
The European Parliament mentioned in an announcement this afternoon that the primary procedural steps have been taken and that Metsola will announce her request in plenary on the first potential alternative, which is able to current itself on 16 January. After that, the request will probably be referred to the EP’s Committee on Authorized Affairs (JURI) for a proposal for a choice.
Metsola on Monday promised no impunity in any way: “From the very first second the European Parliament has finished every little thing in its energy to help in investigations and we are going to proceed to ensure that there will probably be no impunity.
“These accountable will discover this Parliament on the aspect of the regulation. Corruption can not pay and we are going to do every little thing to battle it.”
Alongside such strains, she mentioned she will probably be setting out her intentions for reforms within the coming weeks. These, she mentioned, will embrace “an overhaul of the present guidelines and enhancing inner methods, together with on enforcement.”
In line with press reviews, the 2 MEPs in query are Italian Andrea Cozzolino and Belgian Marc Tarabella.
Greek Socialist EP Vice President Eva Kaili had already been faraway from her place by a landslide plenary vote of 625 to one in all her fellow MEPs over her involvement in Qatargate.
She had been arrested in December and was charged with corruption and cash laundering linked to Qatar’s lobbying of the EP. Belgian authorities discovered €150,000 in money throughout a search of her condominium, whereas one other €600,000 was present in a suitcase her father was carrying when leaving a Brussels resort.
Maltese Prime Minister Robert Abela had final month leaped to Qatar’s defence – for reasons perhaps best known to him and some of his ministers – and criticised Metsola, a Maltese political rival from the Opposition Nationalist Celebration, for having moved “too shortly” on the scandal.
In the identical breath, he additionally insisted that hyperlinks between Qatar and Europe – significantly by way of power provide – shouldn’t be tainted by the allegations.
Metsola, who described the scandal as an assault on European democracy and the EP’s pluralistic values, mentioned she had turned down an invite to attend the World Cup, in addition to a Qatari request to handle the EP due to her “issues” in regards to the nation.
