Request for the waiver of the immunity of Petr Bystron

The European Parliament decided to waive Petr Bystron's immunity.

The German Federal Ministry of Justice forwarded a request from the Munich Chief Public Prosecutor to lift the immunity of Petr Bystron, a Member of the European Parliament elected in Germany, in connection with alleged acts that could be considered fraud under the German Criminal Code, in relation to an alleged false declaration in connection with the payment of a flat-rate allowance.

Petr Bystron was a Member of the German Bundestag from 2017 to July 2024 and was entitled to a flat-rate allowance which covers, inter alia, the employment of staff. In November 2021, he signed an employment contract to employ a ‘clerk/typist’ in his Munich constituency office and submitted the employment contract to the Bundestag administration. However, the request states that, in fact, the employee did not work as a clerk/typist. It is alleged that, due to incorrect information contained in the employment contract, the Bundestag administration wrongly assumed that the conditions for payment of the flat-rate allowance were met and therefore gave instructions to pay the employee a salary (a total of approximately EUR 14 850). Petr Bystron was aware of these circumstances and is therefore suspected of intentionally providing false information.

Parliament considered that the alleged offence does not constitute an opinion or vote cast by Petr Bystron in the exercise of his official duties within the meaning of Article 8 of Protocol No. 7 on the privileges and immunities of the European Union. Furthermore, it found no evidence to suggest that the legal proceedings in question were initiated with the intention of harming the political activities of the Member of the European Parliament in his capacity as a Member of the European Parliament.