Action in EU graft investigation widens

A corruption scandal at the heart of the European Union grew larger this week, when the bloc started a process to strip immunity from two more lawmakers suspected of involvement in a cash-for-influence racket.

The lawmakers — Italian MEP Andrea Cozzolino and Belgian MEP Marc Tarabella, who are both members of the center-left Socialists and Democrats party — will now be subjected to a monthlong parliamentary process, to see whether the usual immunity from prosecution that lawmakers enjoy should be revoked.

European Parliament President Roberta Metsola told MEPs, or members of the European Parliament, on Monday that investigators in Belgium want to speak to the pair as part of a probe that saw Eva Kaili, a Greek MEP who had been a vice-president of the European Parliament, and former MEP Pier Antonio Panzeri arrested late last year over allegations they accepted money for favors.

"The events of the last month have led to a need to rebuild the trust of the European citizens that we represent," Metsola was quoted by Reuters as saying.

The European Parliament's legal affairs committee will look into allegations against Cozzolino and Tarabella, which were made by Belgian investigators, and will present their findings to MEPs, who will then vote on whether immunity should be stripped.

Tarabella and Cozzolino have both denied any wrongdoing and said they would be willing to answer questions now.

Maxim Toller, Tarabella's lawyer, told The Associated Press: "From the beginning, Marc Tarabella has been willing to help justice if it can be useful to the investigators."

Kaili, who was arrested in the earlier phase of the probe, has also denied any wrongdoing, although her boyfriend Francesco Giorgi has admitted to taking bribes.

Reuters said Giorgi told investigators that Tarabella also took money, allegedly from Qatar.

Both Qatar and Morocco, which have also been named as potential sources of bribes, have strenuously denied any involvement or attempt to influence the EU's decision-making process.

The New York Times reported on Tuesday that the "snowballing" corruption investigation threatens to turn up more names, and could "ripple" through many more EU institutions.

Police involved in the case have launched raids on several EU-linked homes and offices, and seized 1.5 million euros ($1.6 million) in cash, reported Agence France-Presse, which said the probe started more than a year ago and involves the security services of several nations in addition to Belgium's.