The daughter of MEP Antonio Panzeri is one step away from being handed over to the Belgian authorities, and over €240,000 has been seized from her bank accounts.
In December, the Belgian judiciary issued a European arrest warrant for the daughter of the MEP, and on Monday, the Brescia Court of Appeal gave the go-ahead for her to be extradited.
However, Panzeri could proceed with an appeal to the Court of Cassation within five days for a further and final verdict.
“The principle of mutual trust between EU states prevailed over the right of defence. We had reasons that could be shared, and instead, they were not taken into account,” Panzeri’s defence lawyers, Angelo De Riso and Nicola Colli told the press.
Both Silvia Panzeri and her mother, Maria Delores Colleoni, are accused of conspiracy, corruption and money laundering and are under house arrest in Italy.
Over €240,000 was seized from Panzeri’s personal account and from a joint one with her parents, which her lawyers described as “fees, the fruit of her professional activity.”
Silvia Panzeri could be handed over to a prison in Haren, Belgium, where former vice-president of the European Parliament Eva Kaili is currently being detained.
Belgian justice also requested lifting the parliamentary immunity of the two other MEPs involved in the scandal: Belgian Marc Tarabella and Italian Andrea Cozzolino (PD/S&D).
At the plenary session in Strasbourg, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola announced the start of the waiver procedure. It will be the Juri committee that will have to vote on the dossier in the coming days before being ratified in the plenary. The EP leadership says it intends to conclude the procedure by early February.
(Federica Pascale | EURACTIV.it)
Source: euractiv.com
