Metsola criticises Belgian judiciary over immunity request blunder
European Parliament president Roberta Metsola sharply criticised the Belgian judiciary for requesting the lifting of an MEP's immunity in the Huawei affair, only to withdraw the request almost immediately.
"I will not accept members of the European Parliament being targeted and smeared without solid evidence," Metsola said on Thursday in response to a journalist's question during her press conference on the sidelines of the European Council summit. "We saw this in the case of Ms [Giusi] Princi, whose name was publicly linked to the investigation, only for this to be retracted a few hours later."
Favourable treatment
The Belgian judiciary has accused lobbyists from Chinese telecoms giant Huawei of offering gifts to MEPs in exchange for favourable treatment. Eight individuals have been charged with corruption, money laundering and belonging to a criminal organisation.
The judiciary has also requested the lifting of parliamentary immunity for four MEPs: Daniel Attard (Maltese socialist), Nikola Minchev (Bulgarian liberal) and Salvatore De Meo and Fulvio Martusciello (Italian conservatives). The request concerning Christian democrat Princi has been withdrawn.
"We expect national authorities to provide sufficient justification"
Metsola argued that such missteps "place not only individual members, but also the entire European Parliament, in an untenably difficult position". She added, "We expect national authorities to provide sufficient justification when requesting the lifting of immunity before Parliament can consider such a request. We will ensure that the minimum required elements are present."
"If there are credible allegations of misconduct, we will be the first to call for action, as we always have. However, if such claims are lacking, we will defend the rights and immunity of members, as well as the integrity and credibility of the European Parliament."
European Parliament president Roberta Metsola © PHOTO NICOLAS TUCAT / AFP