Request for the waiver of the immunity of Ilhan Kyuchyuk
The decision concerns the request for the waiver of the parliamentary immunity of Ilhan Kyuchyuk, Member of the European Parliament elected in Bulgaria, in connection with an investigation by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office into alleged misuse of Union funds. The European Parliament decides not to waive his immunity.
BACKGROUND
On 24 November 2025, the European Chief Prosecutor submitted a request to waive the immunity of Ilhan Kyuchyuk, linked to an ongoing investigation into several alleged criminal offences involving the misuse of Union funds; the request was announced in plenary on 15 December 2025.
The investigation in Bulgaria allegedly concerns the conditions under which his local assistants worked over a period of more than 10 years, including the use of offices and coverage of work-related expenses by a national political party and the assistants’ public roles within that party.
The alleged offences include non‑procurement fraud, misappropriation of Union funds, corruption and involvement in acts against the sovereignty and security of the Union, punishable under Bulgarian criminal law.
The decision recalls the applicable EU and Bulgarian provisions on parliamentary immunity and stresses that immunity protects Parliament and its Members in relation to activities carried out in the performance of parliamentary duties.
CONTENT
Parliament notes that the alleged offences are not related to opinions expressed or votes cast by Ilhan Kyuchyuk in the performance of his duties within the meaning of Article 8 of Protocol No 7 on the Privileges and Immunities of the European Union.
It recalls that, under Article 9 of that Protocol and Article 70(1) of the Constitution of the Republic of Bulgaria, Members enjoy national parliamentary immunities during Parliament’s sessions.
Parliament emphasises that parliamentary immunity is not a personal privilege but a guarantee of its independence and that it cannot act as a court, nor treat the Member as a defendant in a waiver procedure.
The decision takes into account the context of the request: the serious misconduct found by the College of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office in respect of the Bulgarian European Prosecutor who supervised the investigation; the political situation within the Bulgarian party Movement for Rights and Freedoms of which Ilhan Kyuchyuk is a member; reported unfounded accusations and attacks against him in Bulgaria, including when his name was proposed as Chair of the Committee on Legal Affairs; and the gravely disproportionate anti‑corruption checks to which he was allegedly subjected without any wrongdoing being established.
Parliament considers that the grave doubts surrounding the request, the lack of precision of the facts and alleged offences, and the disproportionate reputational impact constitute serious and objective indications that the investigation may have been initiated with the intention of deliberately compromising Ilhan Kyuchyuk’s political activity (fumus persecutionis).
On this basis, the European Parliament decides not to waive the immunity of Ilhan Kyuchyuk. And instructs its President to forward this decision and the report of the Committee on Legal Affairs immediately to the European Public Prosecutor’s Office and to Ilhan Kyuchyuk.
This summary was AI-generated and human-reviewed.