The Ethics Committee of the Greek Parliament, in two separate meetings, recommended against lifting the immunity of Migration Minister Thanos Plevris and Development Minister Takis Theodorikakos, and in favour of lifting the immunity of SYRIZA MP Pavlos Polakis. The final decision will be taken by the Plenary next Tuesday, September 29.

Regarding the first request, which concerns a case file involving the unlawful processing of personal data, opened following a complaint by a private individual to the Hellenic Data Protection Authority, New Democracy, KKE, SYRIZA and NIKI voted “no.” The Greek Solution reserved the right to state its position in the Plenary, while PASOK and Course of Freedom voted “yes.”

Mr. Plevris, who left the final decision to the members of the Committee, argued that the complaint had been filed by a special guard whom he had previously represented as a lawyer, concerning an SMS he had sent him in the context of an election rally. As he told the Committee members, the two had also exchanged other SMS messages as part of their professional relationship. In the same context, he cited an opinion by the Hellenic Data Protection Authority, to which the special guard had appealed, which closed the case, finding that the imposition of a corrective measure was not necessary and that the personal relationship justified the sending of the SMS. A similar opinion exists regarding the case involving Takis Theodorikakos.

PASOK MP Dimitris Mantzos, who participated in the Committee, said he voted in favour of both requests because the cases in question do not fall within the core of Article 62 of the Constitution concerning parliamentary immunity, but rather lie on its margins. He also said that the two ministers’ claims regarding the facts should be assessed by the Judiciary and not by Parliament.

Positive Recommendation on Lifting Pavlos Polakis’ Immunity

The Ethics Committee recommended in favour of lifting Pavlos Polakis’ immunity. New Democracy voted “in favour” and the opposition voted “against.”

The case file against Mr. Polakis was opened following a lawsuit filed by former KEELPNO executive Stamatios Poullis, alleging false accusation, over statements made by the MP in his defence on March 17, 2026.

In a memorandum submitted to the Committee, Mr. Polakis described the lawsuit as an “obvious, vindictive and abusive SLAPP-type lawsuit” and as a “targeted political prosecution.” The case forms part of the long-running legal dispute between the two men.

PASOK explained its vote against lifting immunity by arguing that Mr. Polakis’ immunity has repeatedly been lifted in relation to the same dispute and on the grounds that “Parliament cannot become a court.”