Request for the waiver of the immunity of Georgios Kyrtsos

The European Parliament decided to waive the immunity of Georgios KYRTSOS (EPP, EL).

The request for waiver of Georgios Kyrtsos' immunity was forwarded on 28 March 2018 by the Deputy Prosecutor General of the Supreme Court of Greece, in order to allow criminal proceedings against him for the failure to pay amounts owed to the State. Georgios Kyrtsos, in his capacity as legal representative of Free Sunday Publishing House Ltd, is accused of failing to pay EUR 627 752.65 owed to the State.

Parliament considered that: (i) the alleged offence clearly has no direct link with the office of Georgios Kyrtsos as a Member of the European Parliament, but instead relates to his former position as manager of his newspaper company; (ii) the prosecution does not concern opinions expressed or votes cast in the performance of the duties of the Member of the European Parliament in question and there is no reason to suspect that the intention underlying criminal proceedings is to damage a Member’s political activity (fumus persecutionis).