The legal commission of the Eurocampier defended Ilaria Salis’s immunity for a single vote. Now the final word passes to the Plenary of Strasbourg
Ilaria Salis pulled a sigh of relief as we can still keep parliamentary immunity still close, thus avoiding ending up among the dreaded clutches of Budapest.
The vote
The verdict arrived today: the legal affairs commission of the Eurocampier rejected the revocation of the immunity for the MEP of AVS with 13 votes against 12. It was therefore saved by a single waste vote. And although the ballot took place with a secret vote, it seems that the 11 MEPs of the groups of the EU left, green, socialists and liberals, including the replacement members Brando Benifei, Alessandro Zan and Mario Furore, supported Salis. Two MEPs of the European People’s Party (PPE) could have been decisive. The final decision passes to Parliament in the first plenary of October in Strasbourg.
Salis’s reaction
«Today the Juri Commission has decided to defend my immunity and independence of Parliament, and to reject the request for revocation made by the Hungarian regime. It is an important and positive sign, “commented Salis. And it seems not to fear the October verdict, given that he stressed: “I have full confidence that Parliament will confirm this choice in the plenary of October, affirming the centrality of the rule of law and democratic guarantees”. Like a broken disc he wanted to reiterate: “Defending my immunity does not mean taking away from justice, but protecting myself from the political persecution of the Orbán regime. This is why his protection is essential. The Italian authorities remain free to open a procedure against me, as I myself hope and I ask strongly ».
The Hungarian answer
The request submitted to the Commission had been submitted by Hungary, which obviously did not well accept the decision. The Hungarian government spokesman, Zoltan Kovacs, commented on X that “It is incomprehensible and scandalous that the Eurocamera legitimate the extreme left terrorism. Salis and his went to Hungary with the premeditated goal of randomly beat people on the street, for political conviction. It is not a political question, but of terrorism ». Therefore, the storage launched against the EU is not surprising: «Brussels’s companions are doing everything to make her escape his responsibilities. Defending his immunity, not only justify a criminal, but give refuge to a terrorist. We will not forget and we will not give up. It is a dangerous criminal, it deserves to be in jail ».
For the popular Spanish Adrián Vázquez Lázara: «This vote represents a dangerous and ugly previous one: on the Salis case a political game is being played, but going against the rules that provide that immunity covers the crimes presumedly carried out during the mandate, not before ». And therefore he does not exclude that “Hungary” can decide to “present appeal to the European Court of Justice”.
Matteo Salvini’s reaction was also immediate who wrote on X: “Whoever makes a mistake, does not pay”, sharing a photo of Salis with the word “shame, shame, shame. Save armchair, lost dignity». The League then released a note in which he says: «An eurovegogna laid left and traitors of the center -right, who use justice as a truncheon. Today, another blow to the already scarce credibility of the majority of the European Parliament, reduced to the Combriccola di Management of its own business. The deputies of the PPE will have to explain to their voters why a miserably political vote ». The hope of the League is now placed in the plenary, “confident that it will be able to correct this error”.
Even the MEP FDL, Mario Mantovani, expressed all his disagreement, claiming that “the parliamentary commission has legitimized violence. Although for one vote, the attitude of protecting those who violate the rights remains. It is a shame that will be punished in the polls, and then wonder why the right grows ».
The comments of the allies of the Eurodeputita di Avs were the entire tenor. “With the refusal to revoke the immunity of Ilaria Salis, the legal commission reiterates not only the inviolability of the right of every citizen to a fair trial, but also the centrality of democracy and the rule of law” said the MEP of the Greens, Cristina look. Brando Benifei said: “Ilaria Salis is free: it will not be reported in prison in Hungary, it will not suffer the injustice of the Orbán government. The European Parliament today defending its immunity has defended the rule of law in Europe, for all citizens “.
