Belgian authorities have filed a request to question Labour Party MEP Daniel Attard as part of a wider investigation involving allegations of bribery by Chinese technology company Huawei.
In a letter sent to European Parliament President Roberta Metsola, which Attard uploaded to his social media account, the PL MEP requested that his European Parliament immunity is waived so that he can give a full statement to the authorities and explain the situation.
The authorities are looking to question Attard about a football match which he attended last September, where he was met by a Huawei official who requested a meeting at the European Parliament.
“In recent days, I was informed by the administration of the European Parliament that my name was mentioned in an investigation and that a request has been made by the Belgian authorities for the lifting of my Parliamentary immunity,” Attard wrote.
The request is in connection with Attard’s presence at a football match between Anderlecht and Ferencváros last September.
“The invitation to attend this match came through my Hungarian Parliamentary Assistant, who asked whether I would like to join him and his son at what was meant to be a private and informal event to watch a Hungarian team play in Belgium,” Attard said.
“I was not made aware that the invitation originated from any company, or that it involved a corporate box. I was simply informed by my assistant that a friend of his had tickets to the match and asked whether I would be interested in accompanying him and his son,” he continued.
“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. I had no prior knowledge of this, nor had I had any prior contact with that individual,” Attard added.
Attard said that the topic was “briefly raised” during the game, and a meeting was subsequently requested, which took place two weeks later in Strasbourg.
“Before this meeting, I instructed my Assistants to ensure that all arrangements were fully transparent and in line with the rules of the European Parliament. I only agreed to the meeting once I received confirmation that this was the case,” Attard said.
He said that following that meeting, he had no further communication and took no action whatsoever in relation to Huawei or any matters related to the company.
“After attending the match, I asked the Assistant involved to determine the value of the ticket and to declare it in accordance with the rules of the European Parliament. He informed and assured me that the value did not exceed €150 — the threshold set by the Parliament’s rules — and therefore, no declaration was required,” he said.
In light of all this, Attard said that he has formally requested “to be heard by the relevant authorities to provide a full statement and account of events in a spirit of full cooperation and transparency.”
“I have written to the President of the European Parliament to personally request the immediate waiver of my Parliamentary immunity so that the authorities may ask any necessary questions and carry out any verification without impediment,” he added.
Finally, he said that he would be consulting with the leadership of the S&D Group regarding any steps that may be required until this process, “in which I have no involvement”, is concluded.