The Plenary of the European Parliament in Strasbourg voted in favor of lifting the immunity of MEP Eva Kaili on Tuesday evening following a request from the European Public Prosecutor’s Office regarding a case concerning the management of remuneration for parliamentary staff.
The vote was conducted by a show of hands, and Eva Kaili faces the threat of imprisonment if she continues to speak to the media about the Qatargate scandal, her lawyers say.
The case was initiated by the European Prosecution Office in December 2022, requesting the European Parliament to lift Eva Kaili’s parliamentary immunity for possible fraud against the EU budget regarding parliamentary allowances and assistant payments.
Meanwhile, the Plenary also voted for the lifting of the immunity of another Greek MEP, Georgios Kyrtsos, after the Prosecutor of the Athens Courts issued a relevant request in connection with criminal prosecution for his failure to pay a specific amount owed to the Greek State, in his capacity as deputy managing director and legal representative of the publishing company Free Sunday.
It is noted that G. Kyrtsos was elected as a Member of the European Parliament in 2019 with New Democracy. In 2022, he was expelled from New Democracy and since then Kyrtsos has moved from the EPP to the Group of Liberals in the European Parliament.
