by Eddy Wax and Nicoletta Ionta
Belgian prosecutors have asked the European Parliament to lift several MEPs’ immunity amid a probe into alleged Huawei bribes, in the latest sign that the scandal is intensifying.
Authorities suspect the Chinese telecoms giant of using football tickets, gifts, luxury trips, and possibly cash, to buy influence in Brussels. The sweeping probe has further eroded the credibility of a parliament still reeling from the ’Qatargate’ bribery scandal that erupted in 2022.
All of the politicians in question, as well as Huawei, deny any wrongdoing.
EPP lawmaker Salvatore De Meo confirmed to Euractiv that he is among the MEPs targeted by a Belgian request to lift immunity as part of a probe into alleged covert payments.
“In my case,” De Meo said, “it concerns a social gathering, not organised by Huawei, held outside the European Parliament, where Huawei representatives were allegedly present.”
"I have never taken a position in favour of Huawei, either in the form of signing letters, submitting amendments, or any legislative activity attributable to their interests." De Meo added.
So far, three MEPs have confirmed that the Belgians want Parliament to lift their immunity.
Maltese Socialist MEP Daniel Attard and Bulgarian Renew lawmaker Nikola Minchev have publicly acknowledged they are under investigation.
Daniel Attard, the Maltese Socialist MEP involved, wrote on Facebook on Monday that the Belgians want answers about his attendance at a Europa League football game in Brussels last September, which he went to thanks to corporate tickets provided by Huawei. He said he did not know that the tickets to the Anderlecht fixture originated from Huawei.
“It has since emerged that the invitation came from a person who is currently under investigation by the Belgian authorities and who intended to speak to me about Huawei during the match,” Attard wrote. The MEP discussed Huawei with the person in question and later met them in Strasbourg.
“I firmly reject any implication of wrongdoing,” he wrote in a letter to Parliament President Roberta Metsola that he also published.
Nikola Minchev, the Bulgarian Renew MEP, said that the Belgian prosecutor wants to lift his immunity due to his connection to his former assistant Adam Mouchtar, whose parliamentary office was sealed by police in March.
“I would like to emphasise that there is no charge or accusation against me,” Minchev wrote in a statement. Like Attard, he wrote that he was invited to an Anderlecht football game last October. He added: “The organiser turned out to be among those involved in the investigation that had begun years ago.”
An assistant to De Meo’s fellow Italian EPP lawmaker Fulvio Martusciello was also arrested in March. Euractiv understands that the Belgian authorities are also seeking the waiving of other MEPs’ immunity.
*first published in Euractiv.com
By: N. Peter Kramer
