Huawei Scandal: Parliament Seeks to Block Prosecutors' Work

A group of MEPs are alleged to have received money or gifts in exchange for lobbying on behalf of Chinese tech giant Huawei. These are the accusations made by the Belgian public prosecutor’s office, which has been investigating the case since 2025. To continue investigations against individual suspects, the prosecutor’s office requested the European Parliament to lift the immunity of four MEPs. Yesterday, the responsible Legal Affairs Committee (JURI) rejected three out of the four requests.

Only in the case of conservative MEP Martusciello did the committee recommend lifting his immunity. Martusciello is accused of circulating a parliamentary letter advocating for Huawei’s 5G technology. In return, he and his staff are alleged to have received several thousand euros.

In the other three cases, however, committee members chose to protect their colleagues from investigation. This decision would make further prosecutorial actions – such as gathering new evidence – impossible.

Daniel Freund, Green MEP and anti-corruption expert:

“The Parliament is increasingly becoming a law-free zone. Following the Niebler case, the Parliament risks once again obstructing the prosecutor’s investigations. The responsible committee is fundamentally misunderstanding its role. It is not the Parliament’s job to assess the evidence or determine guilt. Its sole responsibility is to prevent politically motivated persecution. There was no indication of that here. Therefore, we should let the prosecutor do its job. If MEPs increasingly shield themselves from investigations in this way, we must discuss reforming the immunity procedure.”