IZVJEŠĆE o zahtjevu za ukidanje imuniteta Jérômeu Lavrilleuxu
11.5.2015 - (2015/2014(IMM))
Odbor za pravna pitanja
Izvjestiteljica: Heidi Hautala
PRIJEDLOG ODLUKE EUROPSKOG PARLAMENTA
o zahtjevu za ukidanje imuniteta Jérômeu Lavrilleuxu
Europski parlament,
– uzimajući u obzir zahtjev za ukidanje imuniteta Jérômeu Lavrilleuxu koji je 23. prosinca 2014. proslijedio francuski ministar pravosuđa u vezi sa zahtjevom glavnog tužitelja Prizivnog suda u Parizu i koji je objavljen na plenarnoj sjednici 15. siječnja 2015.,
– nakon saslušanja Jérômea Lavrilleuxa u skladu s člankom 9. stavkom 5. Poslovnika,
– uzimajući u obzir članke 8. i 9. Protokola br. 7 o povlasticama i imunitetima Europske unije te članak 6. stavak 2. Akta od 20. rujna 1976. o izboru zastupnika u Europski parlament neposrednim općim izborima,
– uzimajući u obzir presude Suda Europske unije od 12. svibnja 1964., 10. srpnja 1986., 15. i 21. listopada 2008., 19. ožujka 2010., 6. rujna 2011. i 17. siječnja 2013.[1],
– uzimajući u obzir članak 26. Ustava Francuske Republike,
– uzimajući u obzir članak 5. stavak 2., članak 6. stavak 1. i članak 9. Poslovnika,
– uzimajući u obzir izvješće Odbora za pravna pitanja (A8-0152/2015),
A. budući da je glavni tužitelj Prizivnog suda u Parizu zatražio da se Jérômeu Lavrilleuxu, zastupniku u Europskom parlamentu, ukine zastupnički imunitet zbog istrage u postupku u kojem se tereti za krivotvorenje, upotrebu krivotvorenih dokumenata, zlouporabu povjerenja, pokušaj prijevare i prikrivanje tih kaznenih djela i sudioništvo u njima, te nezakonito financiranje predizborne kampanje i prikrivanje tog kaznenog djela i sudioništvo u njemu; budući da bi sudac u Francuskoj u vezi s tim htio Jérômeu Lavrilleuxu izreći mjeru pritvora ili drugu mjeru lišavanja slobode;
B. budući da se u članku 9. Protokola br. 7 o povlasticama i imunitetima Europske unije navodi da zastupnici u Europskom parlamentu na državnom području svoje države uživaju imunitet priznat zastupnicima u parlamentu te države;
C. budući da se u članku 26. stavcima 2. i 3. francuskog Ustava navodi da se nijedan zastupnik u parlamentu ne može uhititi zbog kaznenog djela ili lakšeg oblika kaznenog djela i da mu se ne može izreći mjera pritvora ili druga mjera lišavanja slobode bez odobrenja predsjedništva doma u kojemu je zastupnik; budući da to odobrenje nije potrebno u slučaju kaznenog djela ili lakšeg oblika kaznenog djela počinjenog flagrante delicto ili u slučaju pravomoćne osuđujuće presude te da Skupština može zatražiti suspenziju mjere pritvora ili lišavanja slobode odnosno zastoj kaznenog postupka protiv zastupnika u Skupštini;
D. budući da se Jérôme Lavrilleux sumnjiči za sudjelovanje u sustavu izdavanja lažnih računa za troškove predizborne kampanje;
E. budući da bi ukidanje imuniteta Jérômeu Lavrilleuxu trebalo podlijegati uvjetima iz članka 9. stavka 6. Poslovnika;
F. budući da optužbe za koje se Jérôme Lavrilleux tereti nisu povezane s obnašanjem njegove dužnosti zastupnika u Europskom parlamentu već proizlaze iz njegove prethodne funkcije zamjenika direktora kampanje na zadnjim predsjedničkim izborima u Francuskoj;
G. budući da kazneni progon nije povezan s izražavanjem mišljenja ili glasanjem Jérômea Lavrilleuxa pri obnašanju dužnosti zastupnika u Europskom parlamentu u smislu članka 8. Protokola br. 7 o povlasticama i imunitetima Europske unije;
H. budući da Parlament nije pronašao dokaze za fumus persecutionis, odnosno za dovoljno ozbiljnu i osnovanu sumnju da je postupak pokrenut s namjerom nanošenja političke štete dotičnom zastupniku;
1. odlučuje ukinuti imunitet Jérômeu Lavrilleuxu;
2. nalaže svojem predsjedniku da ovu odluku i izvješće nadležnog odbora odmah proslijedi nadležnom tijelu Francuske Republike i Jérômeu Lavrilleuxu.
- [1] Presuda Suda od 12. svibnja 1964., Wagner/Fohrmann i Krier, 101/63, ECLI:EU:C:1964:28; Presuda Suda od 10. srpnja 1986., Wybot/Faure i drugi, 149/85, ECLI:EU:C:1986:310; Presuda Općeg suda od 15. listopada 2008., Mote/Parlament, T-345/05, ECLI:EU:T:2008:440; Presuda Suda od 21. listopada 2008., Marra/De Gregorio i Clemente, C-200/07 et C-201/07, ECLI:EU:C:2008:579; Presuda Općeg suda od 19. ožujka 2010., Gollnisch/Parlament, T-42/06, ECLI:EU:T:2010:102; Presuda Suda od 6. rujna 2011., Patriciello, C 163/10, ECLI: EU:C:2011:543; Presuda Općeg suda od 17. siječnja 2013., Gollnisch/Parlament, T-346/11 et T-347/11, ECLI:EU:T:2013:23.
EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
1. Facts
After the French presidential election in 2012 (when Mr Hollande was elected as President of the Republic), it appeared that the campaign accounts of Nicolas Sarkozy exceeded the limits set in the law for the campaign expenses of candidates for the presidency. As a consequence, France’s national commission for campaign accounts and political financing decided to reject his campaign accounts on 19 December 2012.
It is in this context that some media suspected in 2014 that an invoicing arrangement had been used to bill the political party supporting the candidacy of Nicolas Sarkozy (Union pour un Mouvement Populaire – UMP) for sums that should have been paid by the candidate and declared in his campaign accounts.
Judicial investigations started in March 2014 and notably included searches and seizures of documents, as well as hearings. Some individuals were also indicted. Jérôme Lavrilleux, who was Nicolas Sarkozy’s deputy campaign director during the election campaign in 2012, was heard twice, on 17 June 2014 and on 24 October 2014.
The inquiry focuses on a system of false invoicing set up by directors of ‘Event & Cie’ (a subsidiary of the Bygmalion Group in charge of the organisation of events and publicity campaigns) together with members of the UMP and the Nicolas Sarkozy campaign financing association. It is alleged that ‘Event & Cie’ sent to the UMP invoices to the tune of EUR 18,556,175 for meetings that did not take place, the actual services being provided for the organisation of meetings for Nicolas Sarkozy’s campaign. Such a system is claimed to have been aimed at circumventing the rules on the limits for election expenditure, as the real cost of the campaign would have exceeded the maximum permitted under the law.
Given Jérôme Lavrilleux’s duties in Nicolas Sarkozy’s campaign team as deputy campaign director, the French judges would like to take him into custody for questioning in order to establish any responsibility within the candidate’s campaign team and within the campaign team association regarding the allegations on the establishment of a false invoicing arrangement.
2. Procedure
The chief prosecutor at the Paris Court of Appeal issued a request for the waiver of the parliamentary immunity of Jérôme Lavrilleux, which was transmitted by the French Minister of Justice to the President of the European Parliament on 23 December 2014.
The President of the European Parliament announced the request at the plenary sitting of 15 January 2015 and referred it to the Committee on Legal Affairs.
Mr Lavrilleux was heard by the Committee on Legal Affairs on 24 March 2015.
3. Justification for the proposed decision
The immunity of Members of the European Parliament is protected by Article 8 and Article 9 of the Protocol (No 7) on the Privileges and Immunities of the European Union.
In order to enjoy immunity under Article 8 of the Protocol (No 7) on the Privileges and Immunities of the European Union, the proceedings must concern an opinion expressed or a vote cast by a Member of the European Parliament in the performance of his or her duties. It appears from the above-mentioned facts that the immunity provided for in Article 8 of the Protocol (No 7) on the Privileges and Immunities of the European Union is not applicable to the present case.
According to Article 9 of the Protocol (No 7) on the Privileges and Immunities of the European Union, Members enjoy, in the territory of their own State, the immunities accorded to members of their parliament.
In turn, the French Constitution (Article 26 par. 2 and 3) stipulates that Members of Parliament may be arrested or otherwise deprived of their freedom of face restriction thereof only with the permission of the Bureau of their Assembly, except in case of flagrant crime or in the case of a final conviction by a court of law. Moreover, the Assembly may request the suspension of detention, of custodial or semi-custodial measures or of proceedings against one of its Members.
Given that the waiver of Mr Lavrilleux’s immunity is requested with the aim to take a custodial or semi-custodial measure against him, a decision of the European Parliament is therefore needed.
The purpose of personal immunity is to ensure the independence of the Members in the performance of their duties and particularly to protect them during their term of office from pressures taking the shape of threats of arrest or legal proceedings.
The alleged system of false invoicing described above and the alleged charges are not related to the performance of Mr Lavrilleux’s duties as a Member of the European Parliament but related to his previous charge in a presidential election campaign team set up for a vote that took place two years before Mr Lavrilleux was elected Member of the European Parliament. Furthermore, there is a lack of fumus persecutionis, that is to say there is no well-founded suspicion that the legal proceedings have been instituted with the intention of causing political damage to the Member.
4. Conclusion
In light of the above and pursuant to Rule 9(3) of the Rules of Procedure, the Committee on Legal Affairs recommends that the European Parliament should waive the immunity of Jérôme Lavrilleux.
REZULTAT KONAČNOG GLASOVANJA U ODBORU
Datum usvajanja |
6.5.2015 |
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Rezultat konačnog glasovanja |
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