Request for the waiver of the immunity of Matej Tonin

The decision concerns the request to waive the parliamentary immunity of Matej Tonin, Member of the European Parliament elected in Slovenia, in order to allow criminal proceedings to be brought against him by the Slovenian judicial authorities.

BACKGROUND

The Slovenian Permanent Representation to the European Union transmitted to Parliament a request from the Specialised Public Prosecutor’s Office of the Republic of Slovenia for the waiver of the immunity of Matej Tonin in connection with alleged offences committed in 2023, before his election to the European Parliament in June 2024. The alleged offences relate to abuse of office in his former capacity as member of the Slovenian Parliamentary Committee for the Oversight of Intelligence and Security Services (KNOVS), in the context of checks carried out on police activities linked to a bribery case involving the Slovenian National Motorways Company. The request is based on national constitutional provisions on parliamentary immunity and on Protocol No 7 on the Privileges and Immunities of the European Union.

CONTENT

Parliament notes that the alleged actions concern the way in which Matej Tonin and other KNOVS members obtained information from the police on possible wiretapping measures and pre-trial proceedings, and that these actions are considered by the Slovenian authorities as a possible abuse of office under the Slovenian Criminal Code. Parliament recalls that EU parliamentary immunity protects Members only in respect of opinions expressed or votes cast in the performance of their duties and is not a personal privilege but a guarantee of Parliament’s independence. It finds that the alleged offence is not linked to opinions or votes expressed by Matej Tonin in the exercise of his functions as a Member of the European Parliament and that the request does not target his political activity as such. Parliament also finds no evidence of fumus persecutionis, i.e. no indication that the proceedings are intended to undermine his political activity or Parliament’s independence.

On this basis, Parliament decides to waive the immunity of Matej Tonin and instructs its President to forward the decision to the competent authority of the Republic of Slovenia and to Matej Tonin.

This summary was AI-generated and human-reviewed.