MIL-OSI Europe: REPORT on the request for waiver of the immunity of Maciej Wąsik – A10-0031/2025

Source: European Parliament

PROPOSAL FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT DECISION

on the request for waiver of the immunity of Maciej Wąsik

(2024/2043(IMM))

The European Parliament,

– having regard to the request for waiver of the immunity of Maciej Wąsik, dated 29 July 2024, by the Prosecutor General of the Republic of Poland, transmitting a request from the Regional Prosecutor’s Office in Warsaw in connection with criminal proceedings brought against Maciej Wąsik, and announced in plenary on 16 September 2024,

– having heard Maciej Wąsik on 18 February 2025 in accordance with Rule 9(6) of its Rules of Procedure and having regard to the documents submitted by him,

– having regard to Articles 8 and 9 of Protocol No 7 on the Privileges and Immunities of the European Union, and Article 6(2) of the Act of 20 September 1976 concerning the election of the members of the European Parliament by direct universal suffrage,

– having regard to the judgments of the Court of Justice of the European Union of 21 October 2008, 19 March 2010, 6 September 2011, 17 January 2013, 19 December 2019 and 5 July 2023[1],

– having regard to Article 105(2) and (5) of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland,

– having regard to Rule 5(2), Rule 6(1) and Rule 9 of its Rules of Procedure,

– having regard to the report of the Committee on Legal Affairs (A10-0031/2025),

A. whereas, by letter dated 29 July 2024, the Prosecutor General of Poland transmitted a request for waiver of the immunity of Maciej Wąsik, issued by the Regional Prosecutor’s Office in Warsaw, in relation to alleged offences under Article 244 of the Polish Criminal Code in conjunction with Article 12 of that Code;

B. whereas the request indicates that the actions Maciej Wąsik is alleged to have engaged in on 21 and 28 December 2023 in Warsaw, with premeditated intent and at short intervals, violated his five-year ban on holding a public position, which was imposed in a final and binding judgment handed down on 20 December 2023 by the Regional Court in Warsaw, insofar as Maciej Wąsik performed the duties of a Member of the Sejm (the lower house of the Polish Parliament) of the Republic of Poland by participating in the session of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland held on 21 December 2023, which included taking part in votes, and taking part in a meeting held by the Sejm’s Administration and Internal Affairs Committee on 28 December 2023; whereas the alleged actions constitute an offence under Article 244 of the Polish Criminal Code in conjunction with Article 12 of that Code;

C. whereas the above charges were brought against Maciej Wąsik on 18 April 2024; whereas Maciej Wąsik was elected to the European Parliament in the European elections in June 2024; whereas Maciej Wąsik was not a Member of the European Parliament at the time of the alleged offence;

D. whereas the alleged offence and the subsequent request for waiver of his immunity are not related to an opinion expressed or a vote cast by Maciej Wąsik in the performance of his duties within the meaning of Article 8 of Protocol No 7 on the Privileges and Immunities of the European Union;

E. whereas Article 9, first paragraph, point (a), of Protocol No 7 on the Privileges and Immunities of the European Union provides that Members of the European Parliament enjoy, in the territory of their own State, the immunities accorded to members of their parliament;

F. whereas in accordance with Article 105(2) and (5) of the Polish Constitution, from the day of the announcement of the results of the elections until the day of the expiry of his or her mandate, a Deputy shall not be subjected to criminal accountability without the consent of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland and he or she shall be neither detained nor arrested without the consent of the Sejm, except for cases when he or she has been apprehended in the commission of an offence and in which his or her detention is necessary for securing the proper course of proceedings;

G. whereas the purpose of parliamentary immunity is to protect Parliament and its Members from legal proceedings in relation to activities carried out in the performance of parliamentary duties and which cannot be separated from those duties;

H. whereas, in accordance with Rule 5(2) of its Rules of Procedure, parliamentary immunity is not a personal privilege of the Member but a guarantee of the independence of Parliament as a whole, and of its Members;

I. whereas, in this case, Parliament found no evidence of fumus persecutionis, which is to say factual elements indicating that the intention underlying the legal proceedings in question is to undermine the Member’s political activity in his capacity as a Member of the European Parliament;

J. whereas Parliament cannot assume the role of a court, and whereas, in a waiver of immunity procedure, a Member cannot be regarded as a defendant[2];

1. Decides to waive the immunity of Maciej Wąsik;

2. Instructs its President to forward this decision and the report of its committee responsible immediately to the competent authorities of the Republic of Poland and to Maciej Wąsik.

ANNEX: ENTITIES OR PERSONS FROM WHOM THE RAPPORTEUR HAS RECEIVED INPUT

The rapporteur declares under his exclusive responsibility that he did not receive input from any entity or person to be mentioned in this Annex pursuant to Article 8 of Annex I to the Rules of Procedure.

INFORMATION ON ADOPTION IN COMMITTEE RESPONSIBLE