On Tuesday 16 January (aff.T-46/23), the EU General Court dismissed the action brought by former European Parliament Vice-President, Eva Kaili, challenging the request made by the European Chief Prosecutor, Laura Kövesi, to the President of the Parliament, Roberta Metsola, on 15 December 2022, to lift Ms Kaili’s parliamentary immunity on the grounds of suspected fraud in the remuneration of parliamentary assistants, and against Ms Metsola’s decision to submit this request to the European Parliament plenary in January 2023 and subsequently to refer it to the Parliament’s Committee on Legal Affairs (JURI) for consideration.
Ms Kaili contested the accusations of fraud and the arguments of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, in particular its competence to adopt the contested act and the fact that she had not been allowed to obtain a copy of the documents on which Ms Kövesi’s and Ms Metsola’s decisions were based.
The General Court dismissed her action as inadmissible in its entirety on the grounds that the contested acts were not open to challenge. It specifies in this respect that “the request for the lifting of immunity is a preliminary and necessary measure to ensure the effectiveness of the investigations where the immunity from which a person benefits is an obstacle to an investigation relating to him or her. It does not entail, in itself, the lifting of Ms Kaili’s immunity and is not capable of having any impact on her rights or obligations”.
Until the European Parliament adopts its final decision, Ms Kaili will continue to enjoy the protection of the privileges and immunities guaranteed to her by EU law.
Link to the order: https://aeur.eu/f/afq (Original version in French by Francesco Gariazzo)