I have received applications from the Polish authorities to lift the immunity of Michał Dworczyk, Mariusz Kamiński, Maciej Wąsik and Adam Bielan, said the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola. She added that they will now be sent to the European Parliament's Legal Affairs Committee. TVN24 correspondent in Brussels Maciej Sokołowski explains that this is the beginning of the procedure in the EP in this matter.
The President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, opened the plenary session of the European Parliament on Monday afternoon. During her speech, she announced, among other things, that the EP had received applications to lift the immunities of MEPs: Adam Bielan (Republican Party, in the EP in the European Conservatives and Reformists group, i.e. ECR), Michał Dworczyk (PISECR), Mariusz Kamiński (PiS, ECR) and Maciej Wąsik (PiS, ECR).
She added that the proposals would be sent to the European Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee.
KONKRET24: Escape into Immunities? Why “the European Parliament will not protect”
TVN24 correspondent in Brussels Maciej Sokołowski explains that the official reading of these motions formally starts the procedure in the EP. The cases will be referred to the appropriate committee (Legal Committee), where they will be processed, and then this committee will publish a report. This will probably happen after a few months. Then the motions will be voted on at the session of the European Parliament.
Lifting of the immunity of an MEP
The EP website describes the immunity procedure in detail. “In response to a request from a competent national authority to the European Parliament to waive the immunity of a Member (or a request from a Member or former Member to defend immunity), the President of the Parliament announces the request in plenary and refers it to the relevant parliamentary committee (Legal Committee)” – we read.
“The Committee may request any information or explanation it deems necessary. The Member concerned has the right to make an oral explanation and may submit documents or other evidence in writing,” it was written.
Then, “the committee adopts in camera and submits to the full Parliament a recommendation to approve or reject the request to waive or maintain immunity”. “During the first plenary session after the committee decision, Parliament shall take a decision by a simple majority. After the vote, the President shall immediately communicate Parliament's decision to the MEP and the competent authority of the Member State,” it was explained.
MEPs' Affairs
As for Michał Dworczyk, at the end of August the Prosecutor General, Minister of Justice Adam Bodnar submitted a motion to the European Parliament for consent to bring criminal proceedings against an MEP. The case concerns the so-called email scandal.
The National Prosecutor's Office explained that “evidence has been collected that sufficiently justifies the suspicion that Michał Dworczyk committed the crime of failing to fulfil the obligations incumbent on him as a public official, i.e. Secretary of State in the Ministry of National Defence, and then Secretary of State and Minister – member of the Council of Ministers”, but also “the crime of obstructing criminal proceedings”.
PK emphasizes that “the failure to fulfill obligations was to result from the use of an uncertified and unsecured private email box to conduct correspondence within the scope of performing official tasks resulting from the functions performed, which are important for public safety and the proper functioning of state bodies”. The announcement explains that “obstructing the proceedings was to consist in helping the perpetrator of the hacker attack avoid criminal liability in such a way that after reporting the occurrence of this event to the Internal Security Agency, he ordered an identified person to permanently delete from the private email box, among others, incoming phishing emails, metadata related to opening phishing emails and links or files contained therein”. “The effect of such action was the destruction of data constituting significant evidence for determining the circumstances and perpetrator of the crime” – we read.
With applications for lifting the immunity of Mariusz Kamiński and Maciej Wąsik the head of the Ministry of Justice addressed the European Parliament at the end of July.
The applications were issued in connection with the proceedings regarding failure to comply with the final judgment of the District Court in Warsaw of December 20, 2023, ruling a ban on holding public office, i.e. for an act under Article 244 of the Penal Code.
“The evidence collected in the case provided a basis for establishing that Mariusz Kamiński and Maciej Wąsik, despite the legally binding ban on holding public offices imposed on them, did not comply with this ban and exercised their mandates as members of parliament by taking part in the proceedings of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland on 21 December 2023, including in votes number 141-147 conducted by the Sejm, and by participating in the meeting of the Sejm's Administration and Internal Affairs Committee on 28 December 2023,” said Anna Adamiak, spokeswoman for the Prosecutor General, in a statement in July.
The application concerning Bielan was submitted to the European Parliament last week.
Main image source: EBS