Panziri became a central figure in a corruption investigation that shocked Brussels institutions in December, when Belgian police searched the European Parliament building and seized more than €1.5 million in cash from the homes of Panziri and two other suspects. financial times.
Prosecutors say Qatar used Panziri and his network to improve its image in Brussels ahead of the World Cup. However, the 67-year-old Italian actor was not new to the game: according to investigators, he had taken bribes and gifts from Moroccan officials for more than a decade in exchange for influencing EU policy.
Until 2019, when he was not re-elected to the European Parliament, Panziri was the Foundation’s liaison and in charge of Morocco, a human rights advocate, and a frequent visitor to the luxury resort in Marrakesh called Mamounia, where Winston Churchill was once a visitor.
Wiretap records can also prove the case
According to the wiretap recordings obtained by the newspaper, the Panziri family talked about the gifts they received from Abderrahim Atmon, Morocco’s ambassador to Poland. The Panzirids also agreed to spend a week, including New Year’s Eve, in the Mamounia at the expense of Rabat.
Panzi’s wife and daughter are under house arrest in Lombardy, awaiting transfer to Belgium, where the head of the family is being held in prison.
Prosecutors say both knew about the corruption.
Panziri’s lawyer did not want to comment to the newspaper, as did the Moroccan Ministry of Foreign Affairs. A lawyer for Panziri’s wife and daughter said they deny any wrongdoing.
Panziri’s ties to Moroccan officials go back more than a decade, when he was head of the European Parliament’s Maghreb delegation. According to public records, between 2011 and 2019 he chaired a joint EU-Morocco parliamentary committee with Atmoun Panziri. In addition, the ambassador often traveled to Italy.
According to parliamentary records, Panziri expressed a favorable opinion of the Moroccan government as early as 2010, when he urged the European Commission to provide more support to the country. Among other things, he voted yes to the EU-Morocco trade agreement and the fisheries agreement.
On September 1, 2012, Atmon attended an event of the Italian centre-left Democratic Party, where Panziri praised Morocco’s democratic aspirations, in contrast to Tunisia for example.
The European Union has finally realized that it needs to take a different approach
– said the former delegate, according to a video recording.
Morocco wants to recognize the occupied Algerian territories
The corruption investigation – originally an intelligence operation launched by the Belgian secret service in 2021 in cooperation with several other European intelligence services – began by examining elements of Morocco’s relations with the European Union. Two officials familiar with the matter said the focus was Rabat’s pressure on fishing rights and recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over the disputed territory of Western Sahara.
Much of Western Sahara is under Moroccan control, but the Algerian-backed Polisario Front calls for independence, and a UN referendum on the territory’s fate has been held for decades.
In 2021, an EU court annulled two trade and fishing agreements between Brussels and Morocco because Western Sahara had not been properly consulted, though the agreements are still valid pending appeal.
In July 2022, Belgian intelligence officers installed video cameras in Panzieri’s home in Brussels after discovering €700,000 in cash hidden there. Then the Belgian police and federal prosecutors were alerted, according to two officials familiar with the investigation.
Santa Claus package worth 50,000 euros
In one case recorded by the surveillance system, Panziri handed over €50,000 in envelopes decorated with Santa Claus to an Italian trade union member, Luca Visentini, who was running for re-election as president of the ITUC. Visentini admitted receiving the money as a campaign donation and denied doing anything illegal.
Investigators say Panziri’s group managed to influence votes against two Moroccan activists who were nominated for the European Parliament’s prestigious Sakharov Prize for human rights in 2018 and 2021. Instead of supporting the far-left Moroccan candidate in 2021, the European Parliament’s socialists voted for a far-right Bolivian candidate.
Last week, Belgian prosecutors asked parliament to suspend the immunity of two MEPs suspected of involvement in the Panzieri network. One of them is Panziri’s successor, Andrea Cozzolino, who was the European Parliament’s liaison with Morocco. Cozzolino also inherits Banzi’s advisor, who is in Belgian custody with his former boss.
Cozzolino was “temporarily suspended” from the Italian Democratic Party last month. The MEP did not respond to inquiries, and his lawyers did not want to comment. In a statement to the Italian news agency ANSA, his lawyers said that he had “no relation to the crimes” and that they were open to lifting his parliamentary immunity.
Charles Tannock, a former British MP who wrote a human rights report in 2013 criticizing Morocco’s abuses, said he was unaware of any Moroccan bribe attempts, but Panziri appeared to constantly try to play down criticism of Rabat.
The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, visited Rabat last week and said he had discussed the allegations with the Moroccan government.
We are obviously concerned about cases that have appeared in the press. They are worried and the allegations are serious. The EU’s position is clear: corruption cannot go unpunished, and there is absolutely zero tolerance for corruption
Burrell said after the meeting. After the meeting with Borrell, Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita said that his country is a partnership with the European Union
He is subjected to constant judicial harassment and frequent attacks from the media… especially in Parliament.
Skeletons fall one by one from the closet
like this We wrote itIn December, Belgian prosecutors brought charges against Eva Kaili, one of the vice-presidents of the European Parliament, and three other people. According to the accusations, the former representative received several bags of cash from Qatari officials to influence the decisions of the European Union in their favour. After an extensive investigation, they were accused of corruption. Investigators are also looking into Qatar’s illegitimate influence campaign.
The European Union Ombudsman, Emily O’Reilly A In an interview with Politico He has already spoken directly about the fact that the Qatar Gate scandal will shake the European Parliament to its foundations, so the relevant ethics regulations must be urgently reformed, because if it succeeds, this bribery scandal will not happen. Emily O’Reilly has been criticizing EU institutions for not doing more effectively to stem outside influence for some time now.
All this is dramatic and detrimental to the credibility of the European Union
said Charles Michel, President of the European Council, on the issue of corruption.
Charles Michel A for a politician Talk about the need to learn lessons and then develop a package of measures to prevent corruption. The President of the European Council believes that the issue makes it more difficult to focus on the economic and energy crisis.
(Cover photo: Pierre Antonio Panzieri. Photo: Marc Duesmann/AFP)
