Privileges and Immunities

(2019/2154(IMM))

The European Parliament,

having regard to the request for waiver of the immunity of Gunnar Beck, forwarded on 29 October 2019 by the German Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection in connection with Procedure No 80 AR 137/19 and announced in plenary on 25 November 2019,

having heard Gunnar Beck 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 to 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, 17January 2013 and 30 April 2019[1],

having regard to Article 46 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Germany,

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 (A9-0036/2020),

A.whereas the Dsseldorf Chief Public Prosecutor has requested the waiver of the immunity of Gunnar Beck, Member of the European Parliament, in connection with a possible investigation into the alleged misuse of titles, a crime established and punishable under Section 132a (1)(1) of the German Criminal Code;

B.whereas the investigation does not concern opinions expressed or votes cast by Gunnar Beck in the performance of his duties, in accordance with Article 8 of Protocol No 7 on the Privileges and Immunities of the European Union;

C.whereas Article 9 of Protocol No 7 on the Privileges and Immunities of the European Union states that Members of the European Parliament enjoy, in the territory of their own state, the immunities accorded to members of the parliament of that state;

D.whereas on the ballot paper for the election of Members of the European Parliament of 26 May 2019, Gunnar Beck was listed as Prof. Dr. Gunnar Beck, Hochschuldozent [university lecturer], Barrister-at-Law fr EU-Recht [for EU law], Neuss (NW); whereas in 1996 Gunnar Beck was awarded a Doctorate in Philosophy in Oxford, Great Britain, while in Germany he obtained the title of neither professor nor doctor; whereas before the constituent part-session of the European Parliament, the Dsseldorf Public Prosecutors Office launched an investigation on the basis of press reports and criminal complaints into suspected misuse of a title under Section 132a(1)(1) of the German Criminal Code; whereas shortly after 5 July 2019 and presumably on 9 July 2019, the investigation was suspended as a result of the election of Gunnar Beck to the European Parliament; whereas on 4 September 2019 the Dsseldorf Chief Public Prosecutor forwarded a request for the waiver of Gunnar Becks immunity to the German Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection with a view to relaunching the investigation into suspected misuse of a title under Section 132a(1)(1) of the German Criminal Code;

E.whereas pursuant to Rule 9(8) of the Rules of Procedure, the Committee on Legal Affairs shall not, under any circumstances, pronounce on the guilt, or otherwise, of the Member, nor shall it pronounce on whether or not the opinions or acts attributed to the Member justify prosecution, even if the committee, in considering the request, acquires detailed knowledge of the facts of the case;

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

G.whereas the purpose of parliamentary immunity 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 this case, Parliament has found no evidence of fumus persecutionis, i.e.

1.Decides to waive the immunity of Gunnar Beck;

2.Instructs its President to forward this decision and the report of its committee responsible immediately to the German authorities and to Gunnar Beck.