Magyar Péter and EPP Chairman Manfred Weber
On Tuesday, September 23, the European Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee (JURI) decided in a secret ballot not to recommend the suspension of the immunity of several MEPs, including Péter Magyar, president of the Tisza Party, MEP Klára Dobrev (Democratic Coalition), and Ilaria Salis, an Italian left-wing MEP.
Although the final decision will be made at the European Parliament’s plenary session, the committee’s recommendations are usually indicative. The plenary vote is expected to take place at the session between October 6 and 9.
In Péter Magyar’s case, the suspension of immunity was requested in three cases on suspicion of criminal offenses, including a case involving telephone theft. The Hungarian authorities have initiated proceedings against Ilaria Salis because, as a member of an anti-fascist group, she took part in a series of brutal attacks in Budapest in 2023, during which people suspected of being participants of a nearby protest were seriously asaulted.
If a representative’s immunity is suspended, national authorities can initiate legal proceedings against them.
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán reacted sharply to the decision, writing on Facebook:
“The Brussels immunity scheme is in full swing. The leader of the Tisza Party now has it in writing: he is Brussels’ captured man. (…) They want him at the head of Hungary, to repay his protectors by carrying out Brussels’ agenda: migrants in, bank and multinational taxes out, no more utility price cuts, family support scrapped, marching toward war, Ukraine into the EU.”
According to the prime minister, the authorities wanted to prosecute Péter Magyar for criminal offenses, but Brussels is providing him with political protection.
Zoltán Kovács, state secretary for international communications, called the Commission’s decision outrageous on his social media page:
“The anti-fascist Ilaria Salis and her comrades traveled to Hungary to beat people up because of their political beliefs. This is not a political issue, but terrorism. (…) Yet our comrades in Brussels are now doing everything they can to ensure that Salis escapes accountability.”
The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Péter Szijjártó also responded from New York, saying that the EP’s decision actually exonerates a terrorist organization:
“No surprise here. The JURI Committee chose to shield Antifa activist Ilaria Salis from justice, the perpetrator who in 2023 assaulted innocent people on the streets of Budapest. The message is clear: with an extremist ideological background, you can get away with anything. A disgrace to Europe.”
FM Péter Szijjártó added that he had initiated a proposal for the EU to follow the example of the United States and declare Antifa a terrorist organization.
According to Fidesz MEP Kinga Gál, the decision clearly provides political protection to Péter Magyar and Ilaria Salis:
“If you serve Brussels, you can do anything. The left-liberal-People’s Party majority voted down the suspension of immunity, so the president of the Tisza Party and the Antifa activist will receive political asylum. This is a double standard and hypocrisy.”
Following the JURI decision, the final word will be given by the European Parliament plenary session in October. Although, in theory, MEPs can deviate from the committee’s recommendation, in most cases they follow it, so it is likely that Péter Magyar and Ilaria Salis will retain their immunity for the time being.
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Via MTI, Index; Featured photo: MTI/Bodnár Boglárka
The post EP Legal Affairs Committee Opposes Lifting Immunity of Péter Magyar and Ilaria Salis appeared first on Hungary Today.
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@PM_ViktorOrban: The Brussels immunity scheme is in full swing. The leader of the Tisza Party now has it in writing: he is Brussels’ captured man. According to the authorities, he committed a common criminal offense (theft) in Hungary and must answer before a court. But… pic.twitter.com/YOAOU1O0S5
