Several elements of the investigation converge towards a network of corruption organized between Morocco and several MEPs.
The European Parliament is in turmoil after the revelations of several corruption cases.
CORRUPTION – Should we now talk about MoroccoGate or MarocGate in the European Parliament? While the institution is splashed by a corruption scandal involving Qatar, Belgian investigators are also looking into bribes paid by Morocco to MEPs.
It is from the declarations of the companion of Eva Kaili, deposed vice-president of the European Parliament, Francesco Giorgi, that the investigators worked on this new part of the file. According to the media Le Soir and La Repubblica, he would have recognized the facts of corruption in connection with Qatar and Morocco.
Because Francesco Giorgi is not only Eva Kaili’s companion, he was also for several years the parliamentary assistant of the very influential Pier-Antonio Panzeri, a former Italian socialist MEP currently imprisoned for his involvement in QatarGate and who seems to be at the heart of this network of corruption.
Panzeri at the center of a network of corruption?
According to the confessions of Francesco Giorgi, Pier-Antonio Panzeri then MEP tried to influence European policies concerning Western Sahara, a territory in southern Morocco claimed by Rabat and the Algerian-backed Polisario Front, and on the flows of immigrants.
His words are corroborated by a note dated 2011 and obtained by BFMTV. In it, the Moroccan ambassador mentioned the case of Western Sahara, which was at the heart of Parliament’s concerns at the time. “The best way to deal with this pressure is to channel it through Antonio Panzeri. On this question, Antonio Panzeri has begun methodical work since his election as head of the Maghreb delegation,” the ambassador wrote at the time.
Since his failure in the elections and his departure from Parliament in 2019, it is through the NGO Fight Impunity (“Combating impunity”) that he co-founded that Pier-Antonio Panzeri has continued his work of lobbying and would have received money from Morocco, details Le Monde, which had access to elements of the investigation carried out in Belgium.
The role of diplomat Abderrahim Atmoun in question
The money would have passed through an intermediary, Abderrahim Atmoun, the current Moroccan ambassador to Poland. The latter was also co-chairman, with Pier-Antonio Panzeri, of the Morocco-EU joint commission between 2011 and 2019. It is also thanks to him that the MEP would have established “a secret pact” with the GED, the services Moroccan secrets, in 2019, adds Le Monde.
Added to these damning revelations is the request for the extradition of Panzeri’s wife and daughter. The document consulted by Politico, which results from tapping, claims that the two women were “fully aware of the activities” and “even participated in the transport of gifts” made by the diplomat.
Pier-Antonio Panzeri would not be the only one to have received money from Morocco and Qatar. Still, according to the revelations of Francesco Giorgi, the Italian Andrea Cozzolino (member of the parliamentary delegation for relations with the Maghreb countries) and the Belgian Marc Tarabella (member of the delegation for relations with the Arabian Peninsula) would have dubious links with Rabat and Doha. The investigation into corruption in the European Parliament has only just begun.
