(Washington Insider Magazine) – Josep Borrell has started 2023 on Moroccan soil, on his first visit to the country as head of European diplomacy. A symbolic and controversial fact in full investigation in Belgium for the so-called Qatargate, the corruption scandal that has the European Parliament as its epicenter and that involves Morocco and Qatar. The Spanish socialist has tiptoed through the situation after referring to the Rabat regime as a “reliable, solid and strategic partner.”
“We are concerned about these news that the press has echoed. They are disturbing and the accusations are serious”, he pointed out concisely in a press conference without questions that he held with the Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs, Naser Burita. “Obviously I have spoken with the Prime Minister and Burita about the ongoing investigation for alleged corruption of members of the European Parliament,” he indicated.
Investigation by The Judicial Authorities
“The EU position is clear: zero tolerance for corruption. We must wait for the results of the ongoing investigation by the judicial authorities, which will shed full light on all this. They have the full collaboration of the whole world in this matter,” he added without providing further details or addressing the Moroccan involvement. Borrell has read a written intervention from beginning to end, without leaving the script.
It has been all that the High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy has stated about the scandal that a month ago shook the foundations of the European Parliament. Just a few final seconds after devoting his appearance to celebrating the “dynamism” of Morocco and the desire of Brussels to “deepen” in the association of the European Union with the Alaouite monarchy. Neither has he addressed, at any time, the growing repression against journalists, activists and intellectuals in the country.
One of the initiatives launched on the occasion of his visit is related to security, it has advanced. He has cited, among the reasons for strengthening ties, the six million Moroccans residing on European soil. Some praise well received in the Moroccan capital. The Prime Minister, Aziz Akhannouch, who is very close to Mohamed VI, has highlighted the level of trade between the two parties, which has led Morocco to position itself as the European Union’s leading economic and trade partner in Africa. Exchanges exceeded 45,000 million euros in 2021, which means tripling those harvested a decade ago.
Borrell plans to close his visit this Friday by giving a conference in Fez, following in the wake of what José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero did last November. In the dispute over Western Sahara, Borrell has assured that the European position is to advocate a “mutually acceptable” resolution of the conflict and within the framework of the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council.
From his office they assure that “for the moment there is no evidence” of the irregularities that in December forced the dismissal of the vice president of the European Parliament Eva Kaili, currently in preventive detention, after uncovering the corruption plot orchestrated by the former Italian MEP Antonio Panzeri with the alleged involvement of Qatar and Morocco in exchange for influencing political decisions.
“No one has officially said from a judicial point of view that Morocco is guilty or that Morocco should be avoided in international contacts,” their team insist at a time marked precisely by the investigations in Belgium to clarify the connections of the accused.
Police records have found up to 1.5 million euros in cash, which could correspond to bribes with the ultimate intention of influencing Parliament’s resolutions. European diplomacy confines the matter to Belgian justice. “It is in her hands and we fully trust her work,” they add. Greece and Italy have also opened separate investigations.
Up to four people are currently detained by Qatargate. In addition to Kaili, there is her partner and her parliamentary adviser, the Italian Francesco Giorgi; Pier Antonio Panzeri; and Niccolo Figa-Talamanca, the Italian head of an NGO suspected of making payments to MEPs. They are accused of “criminal organization, corruption and money laundering.”
his article is originally published on elindependiente.com.