REPORT on the request for the waiver of the immunity of Grzegorz Braun

PROPOSAL FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT DECISION

on the request for the waiver of the immunity of Grzegorz Braun

(2025/2170(IMM))

The European Parliament,

- having regard to the request for the waiver of the immunity of Grzegorz Braun, received by letter dated 16 July 2025 from the Prosecutor General of Poland, transmitting a request submitted by the District Public Prosecutor of Warsaw-Praga in connection with criminal proceedings brought against him, and announced in Parliament on 8 September 2025,

- having regard to the fact that Grzegorz Braun is deemed to have renounced his right to be heard under 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 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 105(2) and (5) of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland,

- 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 (A10-0075/2026),

A. whereas, by letter dated 16 July 2025, the Prosecutor General of Poland transmitted a request from the District Public Prosecutor of Warsaw-Praga for the waiver of the immunity of Grzegorz Braun, Member of the European Parliament elected in Poland, in connection with several alleged offences that occurred in 2025;

B. whereas, according to the request, on 30 April 2025, in the main square (Plac Wolności) in Biała Podlaska, Grzegorz Braun, acting together with another person, allegedly committed a theft of the Ukrainian flag that was displayed publicly on the balcony of the City Hall building, causing a loss to the detriment of Biała Podlaska City Municipality; whereas the alleged action constitutes an offence under Article 278(3a) of the Polish Criminal Code;

C. whereas,according to the request, on 6 May 2025 in Katowice, Grzegorz Braun, acting together with another person, allegedly committed a theft of the flag of the European Union that was displayed in the lobby of the Ministry of Industry (Ministerstwo Przemysłu), causing a loss to the detriment of the Ministry of Industry; whereas the alleged action constitutes an offence under Article 278(3a) of the Polish Criminal Code;

D. whereas,according to the request, on 11 June 2025, in the main lobby of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland in Warsaw, Grzegorz Braun allegedly destroyed items belonging to someone else in the form of 10 coloured boards that made up an exhibition dedicated to LGBTQ+ people, causing a loss to the detriment of the Coalition Parliamentary Club of the Left (Koalicyjny Klub Parlamentarnego Lewicy); whereas the alleged action constitutes an offence under Article 288(1) of the Polish Criminal Code;

E. whereas,according to the request, on 28 April 2025 in Warsaw Grzegorz Braun allegedly imputed through the mass media, to the Museum of the History of Polish Jews (POLIN) and other entities involved in conducting a social campaign such conduct and characteristics that may discredit them in the face of public opinion or result in a loss of confidence needed for a given type of activity by remarking, during the debate involving candidates for the office of the President of the Republic of Poland broadcast live on television and online, that the Jewish daffodil is a sign of shame and subordination; whereas the alleged action constitutes an offence under Article 212(2) of the Polish Criminal Code;

F. whereas Grzegorz Braunwas elected to the European Parliament in the European elections of June 2024, and therefore was a Member of the European Parliament at the time of the alleged offences;

G. whereas the alleged offences do not constitute, and the subsequent request for the waiver of the immunity of Grzegorz Braun is not related to, an opinion expressed or a vote cast by him 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;

H. whereas Article 9, first paragraph, point (a), of Protocol No 7 on the Privileges and Immunities of the European Union provides that, during the sessions of the European Parliament, its Members are to enjoy, in the territory of their own State, the immunities accorded to members of their parliament;

I. whereas, pursuant to Article 105(2) and (5) of the Polish Constitution, from the day the election results are announced until the day their mandate expires, a deputy cannot be subjected to criminal accountability without the consent of the Sejm, and can neither be detained nor arrested without the consent of the Sejm, except in cases where they have been apprehended while committing an offence and in which their detention is necessary to secure the proper course of proceedings;

J. whereas the purpose of the 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;

K. whereas, in accordance with Rule 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;

L. whereas, in this case, Parliament has found no evidence of fumus persecutionis, that is to say factual elements indicating that the intention underlying the legal proceedings in question is to undermine Grzegorz Braun's political activity as a Member of the European Parliament;

M. whereas Parliament cannot assume the role of a court and, in a waiver of immunity procedure, a Member cannot be regarded as a defendant[2];

1. Decides to waive the immunity of Grzegorz Braun;

2. Instructs its President to forward this decision and the report of its committee responsible immediately to the competent authority of the Republic of Poland and to Grzegorz Braun.

INFORMATION ON ADOPTION BY THE COMMITTEE RESPONSIBLE