Belgian authorities have asked the European Parliament to lift the immunity of a group of EU lawmakers so they can be investigated for their alleged involvement in an influence-peddling scandal involving Chinese technology company Huawei, Politico reports.
The request, confirmed by four EU officials, comes two months after the allegations emerged. Two officials said five MEPs are affected: three from the European People's Party, one from the Socialists and one from the Renew group.
Although the full list of names has not been confirmed by the Parliament, Maltese MEP from the Socialists Daniel Attard and Bulgarian MEP from the "Continue Change" party Nikola Minchev have publicly stated that they are under investigation.
Parliament Speaker Roberta Metzola will announce the full list of MEPs in question on Wednesday at the opening of a plenary session.
The authorities are also investigating some parliament staff, one of the staff said.
The parliament's legal affairs committee will decide whether to lift their immunities, in a process that could take as little as four weeks if carried out under an accelerated procedure, or up to a year in sensitive cases.
Attard said on social media on Monday that he was being investigated in connection with the Huawei investigation because he attended a football match in September in a box that Huawei has at the Anderlecht football stadium in Brussels.
“I was not informed that the invitation was from a company or that it was related to a corporate box,“ he said. "It has since become clear that the invitation came from a person currently under investigation by Belgian authorities who intended to speak to me about Huawei during the match."
Attard said that after a subsequent meeting in parliament with representatives of the company, which he said he had stated, "he had no further communication and took no action regarding Huawei or any issues related to the company".
Minchev is also being investigated for visiting the Huawei box at an Anderlecht football match.
"My presence at this event is now a reason for the authorities to want to investigate whether there was anything wrong with him," he said in comments to Bulgarian media, declaring his innocence and promising to cooperate with authorities.
The offices of Minchev's assistant, Adam Mukhtar, were searched by police in mid-March.
Authorities are also investigating eight MEPs who signed a letter sent in February 2021 to three European commissioners in which they argued that geopolitical tensions should not hinder the development of 5G equipment in Europe, a move that would benefit the Chinese tech giant. Belgian authorities are investigating whether these lawmakers were paid for their signatures. It is unclear whether the requests for immunity are aimed at these lawmakers.
At least eight people have been charged by the Belgian prosecutor - including one of Huawei's most senior executives in Europe - with active corruption, money laundering and criminal organisation, following a series of police raids at sites in Belgium, France and Portugal.
The parliamentary assistant of an MEP has also been charged, but an Italian court refused to hand her over to Belgian authorities in late April, despite a European arrest warrant in force.
A request to lift an MP's immunity does not necessarily mean there has been a breach, but it is necessary for the police to be able to summon them for formal questioning and investigate them.
The Belgian prosecutor's office declined to comment. A Parliament spokesperson said: "Any request is only public once it has been announced in plenary - requests are announced at the earliest plenary session after they are received."
Eliza Brown contributed reporting. This story has been updated to clarify that eight MEPs are being investigated over the letter on 5G equipment in Europe.