\n<\/p>\n
Former MEP Cristian-Silviu Bu\u0219oi, a Romanian conservative, stated he never consented to signing. \u201cI looked through my official email and found no correspondence regarding this letter,\u201d he said in a written statement. \u201cI also do not recall giving verbal consent to Mr Martusciello, as is sometimes customary when colleagues seek support for their initiatives,\u201d he also said, adding that neither he or his staff received any compensation nor were aware of any scheme related to the signature of the letter.<\/p>\n
Aldo Patriciello, a far-right Italian MEP, said in an email: “I honestly struggle to remember whether the request for my signature came via email, phone call or WhatsApp.” He added that he had no direct or indirect relationship with Huawei or its lobbyists.<\/p>\n
Romanian conservative Daniel Buda, also a signatory, attributed his involvement to his team, stating he was informed through a briefing prepared by his office staff. \u201cMy support was solely driven by concerns about rural digital infrastructure, not influenced by external parties,\u201d he said in an email. He added he had not been contacted by any investigative authority regarding the letter and that neither he or his team received any money in exchange for his signature. \u201cI had no knowledge \u2014 neither then nor now \u2014 that behind this letter or activity there could be such a scheme,\u201d he told POLITICO in a written statement.<\/p>\n
Former Italian social-democrat member Giuseppe Ferrandino said: \u201cI am certain I never signed any letters of such kind” and added he had never been contacted by any authorities regarding this topic.\u00a0“Nobody ever offered me money to influence my parliamentary activity,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Other signatories included hard-right Italian lawmaker Giuseppe Milazzo and former Romanian social-democrat member Tudor Ciuhodaru, neither of whom responded to POLITICO\u2019s requests for comment. Milazzo told<\/a> Italian news agency ANSA that he had never had meetings related to the investigation into the Huawei case:\u00a0“I have never been offered and I have never accepted any money, gifts or any kind of favor, directly or indirectly, from [Huawei],” he said.<\/p>\n According to conversations with three former Huawei officials, the 2021 letter posted by Martusciello was meant to <\/strong>counter another open letter<\/a> from October 2020 in which over 40 lawmakers urged the European Commission to impose stricter controls over the use of Chinese equipment in Europe.\u00a0<\/p>\n In a letter to European Parliament President Roberta Metsola on Wednesday, 28 members of the chamber urged the institution to \u201ctemporarily set aside<\/a> any MEPs, credibly suspected of involvement, from any parliamentary activity relating to Chinese interests.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Aitor Hern\u00e1ndez-Morales and Paula Andr\u00e9s Richart contributed reporting.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n