On the request for the waiver of the immunity of Matej Tonin

(2026/2030(IMM))

The European Parliament,

–having regard to the request for the waiver of the immunity of Matej Tonin, received by letter dated 12 February 2026 from the Slovenian Permanent Representation to the EU, transmitting a request from the Specialised Public Prosecutor’s Office of the Republic of Slovenia in connection with criminal proceedings to be brought against Matej Tonin, and announced in Parliament on 9 March 2026,

–having heard Matej Tonin on 3 June 2026 and having regard to the documents submitted by him, in accordance with Rule 9(6) of its Rules of Procedure,

–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 Article 83 of the Constitution of the Republic of Slovenia,

–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 and 19 December 2019,

–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 (A10-0217/2026),

A.whereas the Slovenian Permanent Representation to the EU transmitted a request from the Specialised Public Prosecutor’s Office of the Republic of Slovenia for the waiver of the immunity of Matej Tonin, Member of the European Parliament elected in the Republic of Slovenia, in connection with alleged offences that took place in 2023;

B.whereas, according to the request, Matej Tonin, in his capacity as member of the Slovenian Parliamentary Committee for the Oversight of Intelligence and Security Services (the KNOVS), together with three other members of the KNOVS, allegedly abused his office by obtaining information from the police under the pretext of parliamentary oversight regarding whether any covert investigative wiretapping measures had been carried out against several individuals; whereas this alleged abuse of office was carried out following media reports from October 2023 linking those individuals to a bribery case involving the Slovenian National Motorways Agency; whereas the request indicates that the alleged abuse of office consisted in the fact that, while acting as public officials, Matej Tonin and the three other members of the KNOVS performed a specific act, namely the oversight of the police, but did so not in the manner intended by law but rather with the intent of securing benefits for themselves and others; whereas, more specifically, the request further alleges that Matej Tonin and the three other members of the KNOVS sought to unlawfully obtain information both for themselves and for the individuals concerned on whether the police had conducted, in 2022, surveillance on the users of several telephone numbers connected to the bribery case mentioned above, with whom they were associated and with whom they had communicated by telephone; whereas on 7 November 2023, Matej Tonin and another member of the KNOVS allegedly conducted illegal unannounced checks at the headquarters of a Slovenian Criminal Police Directorate, and whereas on the same day, Matej Tonin, in alleged violation of the applicable law, allegedly sent an email to three individuals concerned, indicating that no wiretapping measures had been carried out against them in 2022; whereas Matej Tonin and the three other members of the KNOVS also allegedly obtained information on whether pre-trial proceedings were underway against the individuals concerned through the use of wiretapping; whereas, given that Matej Tonin and the three other members of the KNOVS allegedly communicated with the users of said telephone numbers, they would have considered it important to know whether those individuals were being wiretapped, as they themselves could allegedly have been recorded in such wiretaps; whereas the request indicates that, based on the evidence gathered, in February 2025, the investigating judge concluded that there was reasonable suspicion that Matej Tonin had committed the alleged offences, and this conclusion was subsequently upheld by a three-judge panel; whereas the alleged actions constitute an offence of abuse of office under Article 257(1) of the Slovenian Criminal Code in conjunction with Article 20(2) thereof;

C.whereas the purpose of immunity provided for in Protocol No 7 on the Privileges and Immunities of the European Union 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;