EN Official Journal of the European Union C 215/241

P8_TA(2016)0364

Request for the waiver of the immunity of Giorgos Grammatikakis

European Parliament decision of 4 October 2016 on the request for waiver of the immunity of Giorgos Grammatikakis (2016/2084(IMM))

(2018/C 215/35)

The European Parliament,

— having regard to the request for waiver of the immunity of Giorgos Grammatikakis, forwarded on 1 April 2016 by the Deputy Prosecutor at the Supreme Court of the Hellenic Republic in connection with proceedings proposed by the Rethymno Public Prosecutor for breach of trust in the performance of his duties, committed in conjunction with others, at Rethymno, Crete, over the period 2000-2002 (file ref: ABM:AB05/1956), and announced in plenary on 27 April 2016,

— having regard to the fact that Giorgos Grammatikakis waived his right to a hearing in accordance with Rule 9(5) 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 the judgments of the Court of Justice of the European Union of 12 May 1964, 10 July 1986, 15 and 21 October 2008, 19 March 2010, 6 September 2011 and 17 January 2013 (1),

— having regard to Article 62 of the Constitution of Greece, Article 54 of the Greek Code of Civil Procedure and Article 83 of the Rules of Procedure of the Hellenic Parliament,

— having regard to Order No 5181/18.11.2015 of the Appeals Court Prosecutor of Crete,

— having regard to the report of 7 April 2015 on the appearance of Giorgos Grammatikakis, MEP, together with his defence plea and supporting documents,

— having regard to Ruling No 104/2015 of the Appeals Council of Crete,

— 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 (A8-0279/2016),

A. whereas the deputy public prosecutor at the Supreme Court of the Hellenic Republic has requested the waiver of the immunity of Giorgos Grammatikakis, MEP, in connection with proceedings relating to an alleged offence;

B. whereas, pursuant to Article 9 of Protocol No 7 on the Privileges and Immunities of the European Union, Members of the European Parliament enjoy, in the territory of their own state, the immunities accorded to members of the parliament of that state;

C. whereas, pursuant to Article 62 of the Constitution of Greece, during the parliamentary term, Members of Parliament may not be prosecuted, arrested, imprisoned or otherwise confined without prior leave granted by the parliament;

D. whereas the Greek authorities are proposing to prosecute Giorgos Grammatikakis, in conjunction with others, for failing to comply with certain legal obligations;

E. whereas the proposed proceedings concern a discussion held on 8 March 1996 on the possibility of concluding a new private collective insurance policy — in addition to the compulsory insurance policy — for all employees of the University of Crete and allegedly unlawful payments being made in successive instalments over the period 2000-2002;

F. whereas a previous proceeding on the same case covered the period from 2000 onwards and resulted in the acquittal of all the accused;

G. whereas the proposed proceedings are clearly unrelated to Giorgos Grammatikakis’s status as a Member of the European Parliament, given that they relate to his former position as Rector of the Senate of the University of Crete;

H. whereas the proposed proceedings do not concern opinions expressed or votes cast in the performance of the duties of the Member of the European Parliament in question within the meaning of Article 8 of Protocol No 7 on the Privileges and Immunities of the European Union;

I. whereas the proposed proceedings have been extended to cover the period from 1996 to 2000 and include the last meeting of the Senate of the University of Crete with Giorgos Grammatikakis as the Rector, where the issue was discussed but no decision was made; whereas there is no indication that the intention underlying the proposed proceedings is to cause political damage to the MEP concerned;

J. whereas the proposed proceedings have been permanently dismissed for many co-accused members of the Senate of the University of Crete and of the ELKE Committee due to the passage of the prescription period of 15 years for the alleged crimes, while others were definitively acquitted of all charges by the court in May 2016;

K. surprised that the waiver of immunity is being requested some 20 years after the events have occurred, and that the Greek justice system was not able to bring proceedings against Giorgos Grammatikakis during this period and intends to do so now while he is a Member of the European Parliament;

L. whereas a justice system that moves slowly will never be truly just because the people involved are no longer the same as they were 20 years ago; whereas if justice is to be worthy of the name, it has to be done in due time;

1. Decides to waive the immunity of Giorgos Grammatikakis, as requested by Giorgos Grammatikakis himself in order to put an end to this long judicial process;

2. Instructs its President to forward this decision and the report of its committee responsible immediately to the Greek authorities and to Giorgos Grammatikakis.

(1) Judgment of the Court of Justice of 12 May 1964, Wagner v Fohrmann and Krier, 101/63, ECLI:EU:C:1964:28; judgment of the Court of Justice of 10 July 1986, Wybot v Faure and others, 149/85, ECLI:EU:C:1986:310; judgment of the General Court of 15 October 2008, Mote v Parliament, T-345/05, ECLI:EU:T:2008:440; 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.