Europarlement schort immuniteit verdacht Roemeens lid op (en)

MEPs voted on Thursday to waive the parliamentary immunity of Adrian Severin, although they ruled out any restrictions on his personal freedom until final judgment is passed. The allegations against Mr Severin consist of passive corruption and/or influence peddling, following articles that appeared in the Sunday Times last March.

"It is not the European Parliament's responsibility to express an opinion on the guilt or otherwise of the Member nor on whether or not the acts attributed to him warrant prosecution", noted MEPs, who approved the waiver of immunity by show of hands. 

On 21 March 2011 the Romanian National Anti-Corruption Department instituted proceedings against Mr Severin on the basis that between December 2010 and March 2011 he allegedly accepted an offer of payment of €100,000 from representatives of a fake lobbying company 'Taylor Jones Public Affairs' (created by the "Sunday Times") and requested payment of an initial instalment of €12,000 for services rendered, in exchange for his support in the European Parliament for a draft amendment to a directive on deposit-guarantee schemes.

Procedure: Immunity

Vote: Thursday 23 June