The case for lifting or defending the immunity of MEP Alexis Georgoulis is now taking the formal route, following the complaints against him for a case involving serious criminal offences.

As stipulated by the statute of the European Parliament, any request to lift the immunity of a member of the European Parliament is addressed to the President of the House by a competent authority of an EU member state. The request is announced to the Plenary (as was done yesterday with the Georgoulis case) and is referred to the competent committee, namely the EP’s Legal Affairs Committee (JURI).

The committee examines without delay, but taking into account their relative complexity, requests to waive immunity or requests to defend the privileges and immunities of each MEP. The official request, in which the competent authorities explicitly state the reasons for the waiver of immunity, is examined by JURI, which also appoints a rapporteur for the specific case. The MEP concerned will be invited to give his opinion, but is not obliged to do so, while he will not be present at the discussions, which will be held behind closed doors.

See Also:

MEP Alexis Georgoulis-Gate: The serious accusations & the political side effects

The relevant EP committee can request more information and explanations from the authority of the Member State, in this case Belgium, in order to form an opinion on whether immunity should be waived or protected. The decision of the Legal Affairs Committee is forwarded to the Plenary of the EP, which will vote on whether or not to lift the immunity.

It is worth noting that the next meeting of the EP Legal Affairs Committee will take place on April 24-25, in Brussels.