The European Parliament has lifted the immunity of Alexis Georgoulis and Maria Spyraki, following a plenary session in Brussels on Thursday.
A request to lift Georgoulis’ immunity was submitted by Belgian authorities earlier this year as part of an investigation into alleged sexual abuse committed by the Greek MEP three years ago.
According to amna.gr, Georgoulis’ lawyer said that the Georgoulis had personally proposed to Belgian authorities that he appear and provide explanations, but this was not possible as the process of waiving his immunity had not been concluded.
At the same time, the plenary voted in favour of lifting the immunity of the MEP Maria Spyraki.
On December 15, 2022, there was a request to lift Spyraki’s immunity from the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, regarding an investigation concerning fraud at the expense of the European Union budget.
In a statement, Spyraki said: “I did not ‘hide’ behind my immunity. Instead, in a letter to the chairman of the Legal Affairs Committee (JURI), I asked for my immunity to be lifted and the process to be expedited.”
“I have never been accused of taking the remuneration of my assistants or the illegal disbursement of budget funds. I have no financial differences with the European Parliament. I have complete faith in Justice,” she said.
Source: amna.gr
