“It’s just a few bad apples. Let us not confuse the European Parliament which is an important institution. Judas also sat next to Jesus but not all the apostles were corrupt. I remain guarantor, wait for the judges to shed full light. And I don’t think it’s an Italian problem, only one Italian parliamentarian is involved, not even under investigation, and a former parliamentarian. But other countries are also involved, so it’s not just an Italian question.”
This was stated by Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani in Verona on the scandal involving the European Parliament. And he then added: «I felt disgusted, but these are bad apples, not to be confused with the institution of the European Parliament. There was also Judas sitting with Jesus, but that doesn’t mean that all the apostles were Judas».
Again with regard to Qatargate, Tajani declared: «Responsibility is always personal. Let’s not generalize, there are corrupt Italians but there are also corrupt people from other countries». And again: «I hope there are no corrupt people in the European Commission – Tajani said again – the judges will verify it, but it is a small group of people, including a former parliamentarian and an involved person who has not yet been investigated. As for the damage to the reputation of our country, the scandal has certainly not done any good, but not all Italians are involved for three who do not respect the rules. Responsibility, especially at the criminal level, is always personal, and there are corrupt people in other countries as well».
On the hypothesis of a mole in the European Parliament, Tajani replied: “I don’t know if it’s feasible. President Metsola is acting seriously, perhaps we should improve some rules.”