Request for the waiver of the immunity of Georgios Kyrtsos

The European Parliament adopted a decision to waive the immunity of Georgios Kyrtsos (Renew, GR).

As a reminder, the Prosecutor of the Athens Court of First Instance requested the waiver of the immunity of Georgios Kyrtsos, Member of the European Parliament elected for Greece, in connection with criminal proceedings to be brought against him for non-payment of a certain amount owed to the Greek State.

Parliament stated that the alleged offence clearly has no direct link with the activities of Georgios Kyrtsos as a Member of the European Parliament, but instead relates to his position as manager of his newspaper company - KMP Ekdotiki Anonimi Etaireia.

Parliament also considered that the alleged offence does not constitute opinions expressed or votes cast in the performance of Georgios Kyrtsos’s duties as a Member of the European Parliament.

In this case, Parliament has found no evidence of fumus persecutionis, which is to say factual elements indicating that the judicial investigation in question was initiated with the intention of damaging the political activity of the Member in his capacity as a Member of the European Parliament.

Therefore, following the recommendation of its Legal Affairs Committee, the European Parliament has decided to waive the immunity of Georgios Kyrtsos.