Members of the European Parliament benefit from parliamentary immunity, but that doesn't mean they are completely invulnerable to legal proceedings.
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00:00How does MEP immunity work?
00:07Certain members of the European Parliament have come under increasing
00:10scrutiny over the past couple of years for a range of alleged misconduct.
00:14This has led to numerous legal proceedings being launched against them,
00:18but investigative authorities must first get over the hurdle of parliamentary immunity.
00:23Thanks to their immunity, MEPs can't be subject to any form of inquiry,
00:27detention or legal proceedings because of opinions expressed or votes cast in their
00:32capacity as an MEP. It works both in their own member state, similar to the immunity granted
00:37to national parliament members, and across other EU member states. However, an MEP can't claim
00:43immunity when they're caught in the act of committing an offence, according to the European Parliament.
00:51A national authority can submit a request for the European Parliament to lift an MEP's immunity.
00:56The President of the Parliament announces the request to the Plenary and refers it to the Legal
01:01Affairs Committee. The Committee then investigates by asking for whatever information it deems
01:05necessary, speaking to the MEP in question and examining other evidence. There's no pre-defined
01:11timeline for this confidential process. The Committee makes a recommendation on whether
01:16to approve or reject the request to lift the MEP's immunity, which the Parliament then votes on.
01:21Afterwards, the President informs both the MEP and the authority that made the request in the
01:26first place about the result. Even if an MEP's immunity is waived, they still keep their seat
01:35in Parliament. The European Parliament stresses that lifting someone's immunity doesn't constitute
01:40a guilty verdict, but allows national authorities to go ahead with legal proceedings. If the MEP
01:46is later convicted, it's up to their member state to decide whether their mandate is voided.
01:50For more fact checks, take a look at euronews.com