The MEP of the Pd Andrea Cozzolino, not under investigation but involved in the Qatargate scandal, “in order to allow maximum transparency and serenity of the proceedings, has already communicated his resignation from the Pegasus commission and from the Maghreb delegation”. The lawyers Federico Conte, Dezio Ferraro and Dimitri De Becó explain it on behalf of Cozzolino.
“The request for the waiver of Cozzolino’s immunity”, the lawyers add, “consists of a few lines and is articulated on an investigative hypothesis that does not seem to concern him since nothing and no one directly involves him. Cozzolino will ask to be heard by the Juri commission to reiterate his total non-involvement in the facts and answer all questions”.
Investigation of Megistrates
The Belgian magistrates investigating Qatargate, led by judge Michel Claise, asked the European Parliament, last January 1, to waive the parliamentary immunity of two MEPs, Cozzolino and the Belgian Mark Tarabella, a member, like the Neapolitan parliamentarian, of the group of Socialists and Democrats.
The process for the waiver of parliamentary immunity provides for the president of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, to announce the request of the judiciary on the waiver of parliamentary immunity for the two MEPs on the occasion of the first useful plenary session. At that point, the Legal Affairs Commission, the one to which Cozzolino’s lawyers refer, will appoint a rapporteur, analyze the cases and propose to accept or deny the request. The proposal will then be examined by the plenary: in case of approval, by simple majority, the President will immediately communicate the decision to the deputy or deputies concerned and to the judiciary. “We would reduce the time but it will take two months,” Metsola told La Repubblica this morning.
This article is originally published on anteprima24.it
