Belgian MEP Marc Tarabella’s change of discourse on Qatar could be explained by ‘realpolitik’, not by corruption, his lawyer Maxime Toller said on TV on Sunday.
Last month, Tarabella was accused by Pier Antonio Panzeri (S&D), a former MEP (2004-2019) who was arrested in the Qatargate investigations of having received “gifts” from Qatar.
However, since the scandal began, Tarabella, vice-chair of the Parliament’s Delegation for relations with the Arab Peninsula (DARP), has claimed he is innocent.
Toller, his lawyer, spoke on RTL on Sunday, saying the corruption accusations against his client were not proven since no money was found. He also mentioned that Tarabella has yet to be heard in the case.
Tarabella has praised Qatar and its progress, especially regarding labour rights, despite previously criticising the country and the fact that it would host the FIFA World Cup.
This political u-turn raised questions, but the lawyer said this change of discourse could be explained by “realpolitik”. Indeed, by becoming vice-chair of the EP’s delegation for relations with the Arab Peninsula, Tarabella had to be more “nuanced” and was “encouraging” progress in the country.
Toller recalled Trabella’s intervention in the EP on the matter, where the MEP said that “a lot of progress still has to be made”, thus underlining that his discourse was nuanced.
Regarding the relationship between his client and Panzeri, considered at the heart of the corruption system put in place, the lawyer said that they indeed had “regular contacts” and added that the Italian was a respected MEP. So, it is “quite possible” that Panzeri “advised” Tarabella to say “such and such a thing” without the latter “being able to imagine” that Panzeri “would have monetised their friendship.”
Another element is that, as another Belgian MEP, Marie Arena (S&D), Tarabella “forgot” to declare a trip to Qatar. In Tarabella’s case, the trip was in 2020 and was paid for by the National Human Rights Committee, an organisation allegedly linked to the country’s regime.
This kind of trip needs to be declared to parliament, but, as Toller said, none of the five MEPs who travelled along with Tarabella has declared it yet.
“This is the reality of the field: he leaves in February 2020, then goes to Ghana, it is not [declared], then COVID hits the world, his collaborator reminds him to [declare the trip], the deadline has passed, period,” Toller said before adding that the Belgian MEP “will regularise” the situation and that there is “nothing illegal about going on a trip paid by an organisation.”
Last Thursday, Tarabella stepped down from his vice-chair position. He had already suspended himself from the S&D group, and his national party, the Socialist Party (PS, Wallonia), revoked his membership.
Belgian authorities recently asked for Tarabella’s legal immunity to be lifted, a decision that the MEP “supports”, as it is requested by the Justice, because he “does not hide behind this immunity”, Le Soir reported on 2 January.
Former vice-president of the European Parliament Eva Kaili, who has been arrested as part of the Qatar-gate scandal, will have a new hearing with the Belgian justice authorities on 19 January about her request to be released.
Her partner Francesco Giorgi’s release request will be re-examined on 26 January, while Panzeri’s will be on 17 January.
(Anne-Sophie Gayet | EURACTIV.com)
Source: euractiv.com
