Close European Parliament vote lifts Slovenian MEP's immunity

The European Parliament has decided to waive Slovenian MEP Matej Tonin's immunity in what appears to be a plot twist.

Delivered in a close vote, the decision allows the Slovenian authorities to go ahead with prosecuting the centre-right MEP on abuse of office charges, CE Report quotes The Slovenia Times.

The outcome of the vote during the 15 September plenary comes after the European Parliament's Committee on Legal Affairs (JURI) proposed in July that Tonin's MEP immunity not be lifted in a 13:10 vote. One member abstained.

The European People's Party (EPP), of which Tonin is a member, holds the plurality of seats on the committee, and centre-right, right-wing and far-right MEPs together account for the majority of members.

The Parliament has shifted further to the right after the 2024 EU elections, so it was expected that after the JURI vote MEPs would follow suit, but the plenary vote delivered an upset.

A total of 304 MEPs endorsed JURI's proposal while 306 voted against, meaning that Tonin's immunity will now be waived. European Parliament President Roberta Metsola will inform relevant Slovenian authorities of the decision.

Tonin attributes result to confusion

Tonin told the press before the vote that he enjoyed the support of the EPP but was not certain about others. After the outcome was clear, he claimed the result was to be blamed on "technical confusion" or "perhaps a technical error".

"My colleagues sitting in the back said it had been clear in the show of hands that the majority was in favour of me keeping my immunity." Despite this, the chair decided they would use the voting machines, which led to a great deal of confusion, he said, adding that several colleagues had told him afterwards that they thought by voting "against" they were voting against the waiving of immunity.

Tonin vowed to attend all proceedings in Slovenia, saying: "I want this political trial to end as soon as possible and for the court to reject these allegations once and for all so that we can resume work as normal."

Abuse of office charges related to 2023 visit to police HQ

The immunity waiver request was submitted by the Specialised State Prosecutor's Office, a Slovenian authority focusing on serious crimes, in relation to an indictment filed in February against Tonin and another three members of the New Slovenia (NSi) party - Jernej Vrtovec, Janez Žakelj and Jožef Horvat.

The charges allege abuse of office related to their work as MPs on the parliamentary Commission for the Oversight of Intelligence and Security Services (KNOVS) during the previous term of the National Assembly.

Prosecutors claim the suspects exceeded their powers during an unannounced inspection of the General Police Administration in November 2023. They are accused of unlawfully attempting to find out if specific telephone numbers - including those of prominent NSi members - were being wiretapped in connection with a corruption investigation into DARS, the national motorway company.

New indictment may now be filed

While the indictment against the other three NSi members became final in June, the one against Tonin was thrown out to prevent any delays in the proceedings since it was not yet clear whether his immunity would be waived.

The Specialised State Prosecutor's Office has now said that once it is informed of the EU Parliament's decision, it will decide on how to proceed in the matter. A new indictment could be filed, it told the Slovenian Press Agency (STA).

Tonin's party continues to have his back, while centre-left parties welcome the outcome

The NSi, now a junior coalition party, continues to deny the allegations, confident that Tonin would prove his innocence. The EPP also believes that the MEP would be successful in defending himself in court.

Meanwhile, the Freedom Movement and the Left, two of the centre-left opposition parties in Slovenia, said they expected the rule of law to do its job. "An individual who believes in their innocence is never afraid of giving up their immunity," Freedom Movement MP Matej Grah said, while Left co-leader Asta Vrečko added that it seemed MEPs had decided the situation was serious enough to merit Tonin's explanations.

Slovenian centre-left MEPs Vladimir Prebilič (Greens/Renaissance), Marjan Šarec (Renew/Freedom Movement) and Matjaž Nemec (S&D/SD) said ahead of the vote that it would be right for Tonin to defend himself in court.

The case for which the immunity waiver was requested precedes Tonin's term as MEP and is as such not covered by immunity, they said, while Tonin argued that JURI had proposed he keep his immunity because the case against him was a political trial.

The centre-left MEPs do not agree with the assessment that this is a political trial. Irena Joveva (Renew/Freedom Movement) said that such statements undermined trust in Slovenian prosecution authorities. According to her, the move to strip Tonin of his immunity was done by the pro-European moderate majority in the Parliament which believes in the rule of law.

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