Italian MEP Andrea Cozzolino said via
his lawyers on Wednesday that he will not seek to invoke
parliamentary immunity after being implicated in the so-called
Qatargate scandal, adding that he is innocent of any wrongdoing.
Belgian prosecutors investigating alleged efforts by Qatar and
perhaps other countries to condition EU affairs via bribery have
asked the European Parliament to lift the immunity of Cozzolino
and another Socialist MEP, Belgian Marc Tarabella.
"Cozzolino does not intend to invoke parliamentary immunity for
the political activity that he has carried out in a free and
transparent way, having nothing to do with the crimes (that are
being investigated)", his lawyers said in a statement.
It said Cozzolino, who has been suspended by the Italian
Democratic Party (PD), would also request to address the
parliament about the questions raised by the case.
Cozzolino's assistant, Francesco Giorgi, is among four people to
have been charged in Belgium in relation to the case.
The others are Greek MEP Eva Kaili, Giorgi's partner, Italian
former MEP Antonio Panzeri and Niccolo' Figa' -Talamanca, the
secretary general of the No Peace Without Justice NGO.
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