Τhe European Parliament,

–  having regard to the request for waiver of the immunity of António Marinho e Pinto, forwarded by Dr Rodrigo Pereira da Costa, a judge at the Coimbra District Court on 8 October 2014 (Ref. 6076/12.0TDLSB) and announced in plenary on 12 November 2014,

–  having heard António Marinho e Pinto in accordance with Rule 9(5) 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 12 May 1964, 10 July 1986, 15 and 21 October 2008, 19 March 2010 and 6 September 2011(1),

–  having regard to Article 157(2) and (3) of the Constitution of the Portuguese Republic,

–  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 (A8-0062/2015),

Α.  whereas the judge at the Coimbra District Court has submitted a request for waiver of the parliamentary immunity of a Member of the European Parliament António Marinho e Pinto in connection with possible legal action concerning an alleged offence;

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

C.  whereas, under Article 157(2) and (3) of the Constitution of the Portuguese Republic, Members of Parliament may not, during the parliamentary term, be prosecuted, arrested, imprisoned or otherwise confined without the Assembly’s prior agreement;

D.  whereas António Marinho e Pinto is accused of defamation of former officials of the Portuguese Bar Association;

Ε.  whereas the charges are manifestly unrelated to the position of António Marinho e Pinto as a Member of the European Parliament and arise from his former position as President of the Portuguese Bar Association;·

F.  whereas the alleged actions do not relate to opinions expressed or votes cast by the Member of the European Parliament in the performance of his duties within the meaning of Article 8 of Protocol No 7 on the Privileges and Immunities of the European Union;

G.  whereas there is no suspicion of any attempt to obstruct the parliamentary work of António Marinho e Pinto (fumus persecutionis) behind the proceedings, which were in fact initiated before he assumed his seat in the European Parliament;

1.  Decides to waive the immunity of António Marinho e Pinto;

2.  Instructs its President to forward this decision and the report of its committee responsible immediately to the judge at the Coimbra District Court and to António Marinho e Pinto.

(1) Judgment of the Court of Justice of 12 May 1964, Wagner v Fohrmann and Krier, 101/63, ECLI:EU:C:1964:28; judgment of the Court of Justice of 10 July 1986, Wybot v Faure and others, 149/85, ECLI:EU:C:1986:310; judgment of the General Court of 15 October 2008, Mote v Parliament, T-345/05, ECLI:EU:T:2008:440; judgment of the Court of Justice of 21 October 2008, Marra v De Gregorio and Clemente, C‑200/07 and C-201/07, ECLI:EU:C:2008:579; judgment of the General Court of 19 March 2010, Gollnisch v Parliament, T-42/06, ECLI:EU:T:2010:102; judgment of the Court of Justice of 6 September 2011, Patriciello, C‑163/10, ECLI: EU:C:2011:543.