There are three Italian MEPs among the five for which the Belgium Prosecutor has asked for the revocation of immunity, to investigate them in relation to Huawei Gate, the scandal on the alleged corruption of politicians to encourage the Chinese giant. These are three members of Forza Italia and the European People’s Party: Salvatore De Meo, Fulvio Martusciello and Giusi Princi.
In addition to them, the Maltese socialist, Daniel Attard, and the Bulgarian liberal, Nikola Minchev, also ended up in the sights of the investigators. It was the president of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, who announced the request for revocation, which must now be approved by the Legal Affairs Commission of the Community Assembly.
Princi: “Exchange of person”
The request of the Belgian authorities is connected to the so-called Huawei-Gate case, which concerns alleged payments by the Chinese technological giant in MEPs and members of their staff in exchange for support for 5G Chinese technology within the European institutions, in particular to avoid restrictions on the participation of the company in the development of European networks.
“Huawei-Gate” at the EU Parliament: an Italian-Belga behind the new corruption scandal that shakes Brussels
Princi claimed to be totally extraneous to the facts and to be the victim of a “exchange of person”. “I am contested to have participated in a meeting in Brussels on June 25, 2024, not declared in the European Parliament, a meeting in which I absolutely did not participate as I was in Reggio Calabria to the end of the school year of my child, as can be seen from the copious documentary tests in support”, wrote in a note.
The parliamentarian added that on that date “I still did not hold the role of European parliamentarian having been proclaimed only on 3 July 2024”, claiming to have “full confidence in justice” and to trust “that this evident error of person as soon as possible”.
The scandal
The so-called “Huawei-Gate” is the last scandal that shook the European Parliament, bringing to light alleged episodes of corruption linked to the Chinese giant of Huawei telecommunications. The investigation, launched by the Belgian Federal Prosecutor’s Office, led to 21 searches between Belgium and Portugal on 13 March, including the Huawei headquarters in Brussels, and the arrest of several people involved.
At the center of the investigation would be a network of lobbyists who, starting from 2021, would have tried to influence the decisions of the classroom by offering money, gifts and other advantages to MEP and parliamentary assistants. The accusations made include active corruption, falsification of documents, money laundering and criminal organization.
