P9_TA(2021)0063

Request for waiver of the immunity of Nuno Melo

European Parliament decision of 9 March 2021 on the request for waiver of the immunity of Nuno Melo (2020/2050(IMM))

(2021/C 474/21)

The European Parliament,

— having regard to the request for waiver of the immunity of João Nuno Lacerda Teixeira de Melo, submitted on 6 February 2020 by the Tribunal Judicial da Comarca de Braga, Juízo de Instrução Criminal de Guimarães, 2.o Juízo (Braga District Court, Guimarães Criminal Court, 2nd chamber), in the context of pending criminal proceedings following the submission of a private charge before that court (Proceedings 1039/17.2T9VNF), announced in plenary on 9 March 2020,

— having heard Nuno Melo 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 to 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 (1),

— having regard to Article 157(2) of the Constitution of the Portuguese Republic,

— 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 (A9-0024/2021),

A. whereas the judge hearing these proceedings has requested the waiver of the immunity of Nuno Melo, MEP, with a view to his participation, in the aforementioned capacity as a victim/civil party, in all the steps deemed necessary to establish the truth in the context of the present case or in other cases already pending or which may be brought, in connection with the facts at issue here and involving the same parties;

B. whereas the investigation does not concern opinions expressed or votes cast by Nuno Melo 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;

C. whereas Article 9 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;

D. whereas, according to Article 157(2) of the Constitution of the Portuguese Republic, authorisation of the Assembly is necessary for a Member to be heard as a witness or as a defendant, and whereas the same paragraph states, however, that such authorisation shall be granted ex officio in the event of serious and consistent evidence that a criminal offence has been perpetrated intentionally and which is punishable by a term of imprisonment of more than three years;

E. whereas Nuno Melo initiated the present case by bringing criminal proceedings against João Quadros for acts likely prima facie to constitute the commission of several offences of defamation and insult provided for and punished by Article 180(1), Article 181(1) and Article 183(1)(a) and (2) of the Portuguese Criminal Code;

F. whereas, under Article 9(8) of the Rules of Procedure, the Committee on Legal Affairs shall not, under any circumstances, decide on the guilt or innocence of the Member of Parliament or whether or not to prosecute him or her in respect of the opinions or acts attributed to that person, even where in the considering the request the Committee on Legal Affairs acquires an in-depth knowledge of the case;

G. whereas, in accordance with Article 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;

H. 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;

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

1. Decides to waive the immunity of Nuno Melo;

2. Instructs its President to forward this decision and the report of its committee responsible immediately to the Portuguese authorities and to Nuno Melo.

(1) Judgment of the Court of Justice of 21 October 2008, Marra v De Gregorio and Clemente, C-200/07 and C-201/07, ECLI:EU:C:2008:579; judgment of the General Court of 19 March 2010, Gollnisch v Parliament, T-42/06, ECLI:EU:T:2010:102; judgment of the Court of Justice of 6 September 2011, Patriciello, C-163/10, ECLI:EU:C:2011:543; judgment of the General Court of 17 January 2013, Gollnisch v Parliament, T-346/11 and T-347/11, ECLI:EU:T:2013:23; judgment of the Court of Justice of 19 December 2019, Junqueras Vies, C-502/19, ECLI:EU:C:2019:1115.