Scandal-hit EU political group starts damage limitation work

BRUSSELS (AP) — The major center-left political group embroiled in a corruption scandal at the European Parliament will seek this week to insulate itself from more fallout in the cash-for-influence affair linked to Qatar and Morocco as Belgian justice authorities target its members.

At the parliament’s plenary session in Strasbourg, France, the Socialists and Democrats (S&D) – the second-biggest party group in the 705-seat assembly – is set to eject two lawmakers after prosecutors demanded that the men’s protective parliamentary immunity be lifted.

A group official told The Associated Press that the aim is to sideline Italian member Andrea Cozzolino and his Belgian colleague, Marc Tarabella, at least until an investigation is concluded. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the ongoing probe.

Last week, Cozzolino stepped down as chair of the parliament’s delegation working with the Maghreb region — which includes Morocco — and as a member of a committee looking into governmental misuse of surveillance software.

Cozzolino and Tarabella — who was vice chair of a delegation responsible for “Arab Peninsula” relations, including with Qatar — deny playing any role. The assembly will take the first steps to lift their immunity on Monday, and could remove it next month.

Qatar and Morocco also vehemently deny the allegations. However, the EU assembly has frozen work on all Qatar-related files until an inquiry is completed.

The scandal comes at an awkward time for S&D before a European Parliament election next year. The group lost almost one fifth of its seats in the 2019 polls. Beyond its criminal implications, the affair has raised troubling questions about how senior members could have voted against party policy without...