Belgian authorities on Thursday withdrew a request to lift the immunity of European parliamentarian Giusi Princi relating to an investigation into a cash-for-influence scandal connected to Chinese firm Huawei.
Thursday’s withdrawal came less than 24 hours after the request was announced by European Parliament President Roberta Metsola.
Metsola had announced the request to lift immunity for Princi and four other MEPs ― Nikola Minchev, Daniel Attard, Fulvio Martusciello and Salvatore De Meo ― Wednesday afternoon.
Metsola’s office confirmed that the immunity waiver request for Princi, a center-right Italian member of European Parliament, will be withdrawn, while the four others will be processed.
“We are still waiting for the official documentation to arrive via the established official channels (Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs),” Metsola’s office said in a statement to POLITICO. “Once received, it will be processed swiftly,” the statement said, referring to the withdrawal request.
Princi has previously disputed the reasons why Belgian police were seeking to investigate her, adding that she was in Italy at the time of the meeting she was accused of having participated in and had also not yet assumed her role as MEP.
“The investigating judge has received new elements from the federal police which justify the pure and simple withdrawal of the aforementioned request for revocation of parliamentary immunity,” Princi said in an emailed statement Thursday afternoon.
“I am relieved by the request for urgent revocation to confirm my total non-involvement in the so-called Huaweigate, although I am still shocked at having been involved on the basis of objectively non-existent elements,” she added.
The move will surely add fuel to EU lawmakers’ frustration with Belgian authorities, which have failed to bring a conviction for the culprits of the Qatargate cash-for-influence scandal that rocked the European Parliament’s reputation in 2022.
The Belgian prosecutor did not respond to a request for comment.
Elisa Braun contributed to this report.
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