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Plenary report, 2 February 2024

On the request for waiver of the immunity of Ioannis Lagos

Report A-9-2024-0027 · (2023/2092(IMM))

Committee on Legal Affairs · Rapporteur: Sergey Lagodinsky

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AI:In short

The Committee on Legal Affairs proposes that Parliament refuse to waive the immunity of Ioannis Lagos, who faces Greek criminal proceedings over a statement posted online. The request came from the Deputy Public Prosecutor at the Athens Court of First Instance, transmitted by the Deputy Prosecutor of the Supreme Court of Greece on 31 May 2023. The statement, published on 1 March 2022, is alleged to constitute public incitement to violence or hatred under Greek Law No 927/1979 as amended. The committee finds the statement was made in Lagos's capacity as a Member and has a direct and obvious connection with his parliamentary mandate, so it falls under Article 8 of Protocol No 7.

Position. The Committee on Legal Affairs proposes that Parliament decide not to waive the immunity of Ioannis Lagos, finding that his statement was made in his capacity as a Member and has a direct and obvious connection with his parliamentary mandate.

Key points

  1. Parliament decides not to waive the immunity of Ioannis Lagos.
  2. The request for waiver was made by the Deputy Public Prosecutor at the Athens Court of First Instance in connection with possible criminal charges.
  3. The request was transmitted by letter dated 31 May 2023 by the Deputy Prosecutor of the Supreme Court of Greece and announced in plenary on 14 June 2023.
  4. Ioannis Lagos was heard in accordance with Rule 9(6) of Parliament's Rules of Procedure.
  5. On 1 March 2022, Ioannis Lagos published a message on his party's website allegedly constituting public incitement to violence or hatred against a group identified by national origin, religion or sexual orientation.
  6. On 2 March 2022, the Greek Observatory of the Helsinki Accords notified the Athens Court of First Instance of the message.
  7. On 1 March 2022, Ioannis Lagos took part in the plenary vote on 'Russian aggression against Ukraine' and afterwards published a statement explaining his vote.
  8. Parliamentary immunity is a guarantee of Parliament's independence, not a Member's personal privilege.
  9. Parliament cannot act as a court, and a Member cannot be regarded as a defendant in a waiver procedure.
  10. Article 8 of Protocol No 7 states that Members shall not be subject to inquiry, detention or legal proceedings for opinions expressed or votes cast in the performance of their duties.
  11. A statement made outside Parliament may constitute an opinion expressed in the performance of duties if it contains a subjective assessment with a direct and obvious connection to the Member's parliamentary duties.
  12. Political debate by Members increasingly takes place outside Parliament's premises, including on the internet.

Who is affected

  • Ioannis Lagos, Member of the European Parliament, whose immunity is not waived.
  • Greek authorities, who requested the waiver and are informed of the decision.

Figures and deadlines

  • 31 May 2023: date of the letter transmitting the waiver request.
  • 14 June 2023: date the request was announced in plenary.
  • 1 March 2022: date Ioannis Lagos published the message and took part in the plenary vote.
  • 2 March 2022: date the Greek Observatory of the Helsinki Accords notified the Athens Court of First Instance.

Legal basis. Article 8 of Protocol No 7 on the Privileges and Immunities of the European Union and Article 6(2) of the Act of 20 September 1976.

Written by AI from the full text · every figure comes from the text · ¶ opens the paragraph · 25 Sept 2026 · Report a problem

Full text

Proposal for a european parliament decision 21 paragraphs

(2023/2092(IMM))

The European Parliament,

–having regard to the request by the Deputy Public Prosecutor at the Athens Court of First Instance for the waiver of the immunity of Ioannis Lagos, transmitted by letter dated 31 May 2023 by the Deputy Prosecutor of the Supreme Court of Greece in connection with possible criminal charges (Re. ABM: RB 2022/13-EG: 104-23/3), and announced in plenary on 14 June 2023,

–having heard Ioannis Lagos in accordance with Rule 9(6) of its Rules of Procedure,

–having regard to Article 8 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 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 (A9-0027/2024),

A.whereas the Deputy Public Prosecutor at the Athens Court of First Instance has submitted a request for waiver of the parliamentary immunity of Ioannis Lagos in order to launch criminal proceedings against him on the grounds of a statement he posted on the internet;

B.whereas on 1 March 2022, Ioannis Lagos published a message on his party’s website allegedly constituting public incitement to violence or hatred against a group of people identified on the basis of national origin, religion or sexual orientation in violation of Article 1 of Greek Law No 927/1979 as amended by Greek Laws No 4285/2014 and No 4491/2017;

C.whereas on 2 March 2022, the Greek Observatory of the Helsinki Accords notified the Athens Court of First Instance, for information and necessary action, of the message posted by Ioannis Lagos the day before;

D.whereas, on 1 March 2022, Ioannis Lagos took part in the European Parliament plenary vote on the motion for resolution on ‘Russian aggression against Ukraine’ and whereas, on the same day, after the vote, he published on his party’s website a statement entitled ‘I will not sell out, nor will I betray my principles and beliefs’ explaining the reasons leading to his vote;

Read the rest (9 paragraphs)

E.whereas, by making that statement, Ioannis Lagos is allegedly guilty of public incitement to violence and hatred against a group of people identified on the basis of national origin, religion or sexual orientation, which constitutes a criminal offence under Article 1 of Greek Law No 927/1979 as amended by Greek Laws No 4285/2014 and No 4491/2017;

F.whereas parliamentary immunity is not a Member’s personal privilege but a guarantee of the independence of Parliament as a whole and of its Members;

G.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;

H.whereas Article 8 of Protocol No 7 on the Privileges and Immunities of the European Union stipulates that ‘Members of the European Parliament shall not be subject to any form of inquiry, detention or legal proceedings in respect of opinions expressed or votes cast by them in the performance of their duties’;

I.whereas a statement made by a Member outside the European Parliament may constitute an opinion expressed in the performance of their duties, within the meaning of Article 8 of the Protocol, where it contains a subjective assessment having a direct and obvious connection with the performance of that Member’s duties in the European Parliament; whereas whether or not this is the case must therefore be determined by the nature and content of the statement and not by the place where it was made;

J.whereas nowadays the political debate in which Members of the European Parliament participate, in the exercise of their mandate, increasingly takes place also outside Parliament’s premises, including on the internet;

K.whereas, against this background, the statement published by Ioannis Lagos was clearly made in his capacity as a Member of the European Parliament and whereas a direct and obvious connection between the statement under consideration and the parliamentary mandate of Ioannis Lagos can be deemed to exist;

1.Decides not to waive the immunity of Ioannis Lagos;

2.Instructs its President to forward this decision and the report of its committee responsible immediately to the competent authority of the Hellenic Republic and to Ioannis Lagos.

Annex: entities or persons from whom the rapporteur has received input 1 paragraph

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 1 paragraph
Date adopted24.1.2024
Result of final vote+: –: 0:20 0 1
Members present for the final votePascal Arimont, Gunnar Beck, Ilana Cicurel, Ibán García Del Blanco, Virginie Joron, Pierre Karleskind, Sergey Lagodinsky, Gilles Lebreton, Sabrina Pignedoli, Jiří Pospíšil, Franco Roberti, Raffaele Stancanelli, Adrián Vázquez Lázara, Axel Voss, Marion Walsmann
Substitutes present for the final voteJorge Buxadé Villalba, Pascal Durand, Angelika Niebler, Witold Pahl, Nacho Sánchez Amor, Jana Toom
Substitutes under Rule 209(7) present for the final voteBenoît Biteau, Christian Ehler