Tags : International Trade Union Confederation, ITUC, European Parliament, corruption, Luca Visentini, Antonio Panzeri, Eva Kaili, Francesco Giorgi, Maroc_Qatargate, Marocgate, Morocco,
The ITUC General Council (ITUC) has “decided that Luca Visentini no longer has his confidence as General Secretary”, and an “Extraordinary World Congress” will be organized “as soon as possible with a view to electing a new secretary general,” the statement said.
The Italian trade unionist Luca Visentini, implicated in the investigation for corruption in the European Parliament, was dismissed on Saturday from his post as general secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), the organization announced in a press release.
The ITUC General Council (ITUC) has “decided that Luca Visentini no longer has his confidence as General Secretary”, and an “Extraordinary World Congress” will be organized “as soon as possible with a view to electing a new secretary general,” the statement said.
“The events of the past few months have considerably damaged the reputation of the ITUC. Important lessons have been learned (…) We are determined to protect the ITUC from any form of undue influence, and even from any suspicion of influence”, commented Akiko Gono, the president of the organization.
The ITUC, which federates 338 unions in 168 countries and territories around the world, however, assures “that it has found no evidence of donations from Qatar or Morocco influencing its policies or programs”.
Luca Visentini was arrested in December in the Belgian investigation into suspicions of corruption of MEPs involving Qatar and Morocco, then released on conditions after two days in police custody.
The 54-year-old Italian admitted at the end of December to having received a cash payment “a donation of less than 50,000 euros” from the NGO Fight Impunity led by his compatriot, the former MEP Pier Antonio Panzeri, considered to be the one of the key suspects in the case.
Mr. Visentini had however assured that this donation was not linked to any attempt at corruption or influence peddling for the benefit of Qatar, but was intended to reimburse certain costs generated by his campaign to take the head of the ITUC.
He was elected in november at the head of the organization, before being suspended from his functions on December 21.
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