The Greek Parliament will vote next Thursday, September 17, on whether to lift the parliamentary immunity of New Democracy MP Dimitris Avramopoulos in connection with the Qatargate investigation.
The vote follows an arrest warrant issued by Belgian judicial authorities in the case.
The Parliament’s Ethics Committee had already recommended lifting Avramopoulos’ immunity when it met in July. The committee’s recommendation will now go before the full Parliament for a decision.
Avramopoulos asks for immunity to be lifted
Avramopoulos himself has requested that his parliamentary immunity be lifted, saying he wants the case to be fully investigated.
In a memorandum submitted to the Parliament, he said he did not want to use his position as a lawmaker to avoid judicial scrutiny.
“I do not wish to use my parliamentary capacity as a means of avoiding judicial investigation. I fully defer to the judgment of the competent committee regarding the request to lift my immunity,” Avramopoulos said, according to the statement cited by To Vima.
Previous statement on Qatargate
The case reached the Greek Parliament in June, when Avramopoulos said the issue linked to his name had already been resolved.
“The issue that was attempted to be linked to my name has been closed for three years, with full institutional transparency and with the seal of the European Commission,” he said at the time.
The Parliament’s decision on Sept. 17 will determine whether Avramopoulos’ parliamentary immunity is lifted following the Belgian arrest warrant.
