REPORT on the request for the waiver of the immunity of Nikos Pappas

PROPOSAL FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT DECISION

on the request for the waiver of the immunity of Nikos Pappas

(2025/2194(IMM))

The European Parliament,

- having regard to the request for the waiver of the immunity of Nikos Pappas, received by letter dated 10 September 2025 from the General Prosecutor's Office of the Supreme Court of the Hellenic Republic, transmitting a request submitted by the Prosecutor at the Athens Court of First Instance in connection with criminal proceedings to be instituted against him, and announced in Parliament on 6 October 2025,

- having heard Nikos Pappas on 28 January 2026 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 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, 19 December 2019 and 5 July 2023[1],

- 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 (A10-0077/2026),

A. whereas the General Prosecutor's Office of the Supreme Court of the Hellenic Republic has transmitted a request from the Prosecutor at the Athens Court of First Instance for the waiver of the immunity of Nikos Pappas, Member of the European Parliament, in connection with alleged acts of defamation and insult, constituting offences under Article 26a, Article 27(1), Article 361(1) and Article 363 of the Greek Criminal Code - criminal acts amounting to a misdemeanour;

B. whereas, according to the request, the complaint indicates that in the context of an interview for an online show, Nikos Pappas allegedly made, before third parties, false and defamatory claims about a journalist, insulting his honour intentionally; whereas Nikos Pappas is alleged to have perpetrated these offences in Athens on 20 March 2024;

C. whereas Nikos Pappas was elected to the European Parliament in the European elections of June 2024 and was not a Member of the European Parliament at the time of the alleged offences; whereas the complaint against him dates from 10 June 2024;

D. whereas the alleged offence does not constitute, and the subsequent request for the waiver of the immunity of Nikos Pappas 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;

E. 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, Members of the European Parliament are to enjoy, in the territory of their own state, the immunities accorded to members of their parliament;

F. whereas, under Article 62 of the Constitution of the Hellenic Republic, no Member may, during his or her term of office, be prosecuted, arrested, imprisoned or subject to other measures involving the deprivation of liberty without the authorisation of the Chamber of Deputies;

G. 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;

H. whereas, in accordance with Rule 5(2) of the Rules of Procedure, parliamentary immunity is not a personal privilege of a Member but a guarantee of the independence of Parliament as a whole, and of its Members;

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

J. 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[2];

1. Decides to waive the immunity of Nikos Pappas;

2. Instructs its President to forward this decision and the report of its committee responsible immediately to the competent authorities of the Hellenic Republic and to Nikos Pappas.

INFORMATION ON ADOPTION BY THE COMMITTEE RESPONSIBLE