Prague court will seek to lift immunity of newly elected MEP

3 months ago 21

The Supreme Court in Prague is preparing to ask the European Parliament to lift the immunity of newly-elected MEP and ANO (Renew) party member Jana Nagyová, who is implicated in the subsidy fraud case along with ANO leader Andrej Babiš.

This information was confirmed on Wednesday by court spokesman Vít Vatra to the Czech newspaper Deník N.

Nagyová was elected to the European Parliament for the first time earlier in June and is expected to be granted immunity when the first plenary session begins in July. Despite requests from the Czech media, Nagyová has not yet commented on the matter.

“Currently, we are gathering the necessary documents to submit the request for lifting the immunity,” Vatra told Deník N, adding that the exact date for submission is still unknown.

“When exactly this will happen, I do not know yet,” he added.

If the European Parliament is requested to waive an MEP’s immunity, the European Parliament’s president announces the request in a plenary session and refers it to the Committee on Legal Affairs (JURI). This committee will then make a recommendation in a closed session on which the European Parliament will base its decision.

Nagyová is involved in the so-called “Stork Nest case”. According to allegations, former Czech Prime Minister Babiš orchestrated the removal of Stork Nest Farm from his agrochemical giant Agrofert Group in 2007 and 2008 and transferred shares to his children and partner. Investigators claim the manoeuvre was designed to make the company appear eligible for a €50 million EU-funded subsidy earmarked for small and medium-sized enterprises.

According to the indictment, Nagyová successfully applied for this subsidy.

In February 2024, the Prague Municipal Court ruled that the act was not a criminal offence, repeating its decision from the previous year, which had been overturned by the Appeals Court. The prosecution still argues that the manoeuvring of the companies was a deliberate act and has appealed again so that the Supreme Court will review the case again.

Both Babiš and Nagyová have consistently denied the charges.

(Aneta Zachová | Euractiv.cz)