On the request for the waiver of the immunity of Nikola Minchev

PR_IMM_Waiver

PROPOSAL FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT DECISION

on the request for the waiver of the immunity of Nikola Minchev

(2025/2100(IMM))

– having regard to the request for the waiver of the immunity of Nikola Minchev, received by letter dated 6 May 2025 from the Protocol Service of the Belgian Federal Public Service Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, transmitting a request, dated 16 April 2025, from the Belgian Federal Prosecutor’s Office in connection with criminal proceedings to be instituted against Nikola Minchev, and announced in Parliament on 21 May 2025,

– having regard to the additional information provided by the Belgian Federal Prosecutor and the Investigating Judge at an exchange of views on 15 July 2025, and the reply provided on 18 September 2025 following a further written request for information; having regard to the fact that a request for the waiver of a Member’s immunity must meet certain standards, namely it must be formulated clearly, including with regard to the legal framework on which the request is based, and must provide clear and sufficient elements and information for Parliament to be in a position to examine the request in order to reach a conclusion and to conclude that examination as quickly as possible, also bearing in mind the relative complexity of the case,

– having heard Nikola Minchev on 3 December 2025 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 and 19 December 2019,

– 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 (A10-0155/2026),

A. whereas on 16 April 2025, the Belgian Federal Prosecutor issued a request for the waiver of the immunity of Nikola Minchev, a Member of the European Parliament elected in Bulgaria, in connection with criminal proceedings to be instituted against him;

B. whereas a broad investigation concerning the company Huawei allegedly yielded serious evidence of the existence of a criminal organisation whose purpose was allegedly to influence the decisions of the EU institutions by engaging in the corruption of Members of the European Parliament; whereas that investigation appears to have brought to light several acts of alleged corruption presumed to have been committed on a regular basis from 2021 until 2024; whereas the corruption scheme allegedly took various forms, including the invitation of Members of the European Parliament to events supported by Huawei, supposedly in return for taking political positions in favour of that company, and excessive gifts such as food and travel expenses or regular invitations to football matches outside the framework of the European Parliament;

C. whereas, according to the request for the waiver of immunity, on 24 October 2024 Nikola Minchev attended a football match at a stadium in Brussels, together with his accredited parliamentary assistant, two Huawei representatives and another person; whereas, according to the request, they were present in a box rented at a cost of EUR 45 000 per season by Huawei, allegedly through an intermediary company for the purpose of facilitating contact with certain Members of the European Parliament; whereas the defrayal of the costs incurred in attending the football match – the exact amount of which was unknown to the authority requesting the waiver of immunity – does not appear to have been declared by Nikola Minchev to the European Parliament; whereas, according to the additional information provided by the Belgian Federal Prosecutor, on 16 July 2024 Nikola Minchev also attended a dinner, together with a Huawei executive, that had been organised by one of the two Huawei representatives;

D. whereas it was not until the additional information provided by the Belgian Federal Prosecutor in reply to the written request for further information that it was indicated that the alleged actions of Nikola Minchev could have amounted to passive public bribery, a criminal offence under Article 246(1) of the Belgian Criminal Code;

E. whereas Nikola Minchev was elected to the European Parliament in the European elections of June 2024 and was a Member of the European Parliament at the time of the alleged offence;

F. 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;

G. whereas the purpose of the parliamentary 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 its Rules of Procedure, parliamentary immunity is not a personal privilege of the Member, but a guarantee of the independence of the European Parliament as a whole and of its Members;

I. whereas Article 8 of Protocol No 7 on the Privileges and Immunities of the European Union provides that Members of the European Parliament are not to be subject to any form of inquiry, detention or legal proceedings in respect of opinions expressed or votes cast by them in the performance of their duties; whereas the alleged offence does not concern an opinion expressed or vote cast by Nikola Minchev in the performance of his duties within the meaning of Article 8 of that Protocol;

J. whereas Article 9, first paragraph, point (b), of Protocol No 7 on the Privileges and Immunities of the European Union provides that Members of the European Parliament enjoy, in the territory of any Member State other than their own, immunity from any measure of detention and from legal proceedings;

K. whereas any conclusion regarding the immunity of Nikola Minchev needs to be drawn on the basis of the request for the waiver of immunity and on the basis of the information and explanations provided in this case, including the replies given by the Belgian Federal Prosecutor, both during the exchange of views and in the additional information provided in writing; whereas there is a flagrant scarcity of concrete elements in the request for the waiver of the immunity; whereas the subsequent oral and written exchanges with the Belgian Federal Prosecutor did not disperse the considerable uncertainty as to the various elements contained in the request for the waiver of the immunity of Nikola Minchev;

L. whereas, on the basis of the foregoing, the sum of information presented did not allow Parliament to confidently arrive at a sufficiently informed decision to waive the immunity of Nikola Minchev; whereas the considerable uncertainty as to the various elements of this case could, moreover, be of such a nature as to indicate the existence of fumus persecutionis;

1. Decides not to waive the immunity of Nikola Minchev;

2. Instructs its President to forward this decision and the report of its committee responsible immediately to the competent authorities of the Kingdom of Belgium and to Nikola Minchev.

INFORMATION ON ADOPTION BY THE COMMITTEE RESPONSIBLE

Date adopted

3.6.2026

Result of final vote

+:

–:

0:

10

14

0