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Belgian authorities have asked the European Parliament to lift the immunity of 5 MEPs, two of whom are center-right Italians.
It concerns Fulvio Martusciello and Giusi Princi, in connection with an investigation into a scandal linked to the Chinese firm Huawei, according to three EU officials.
The requests follow those for Maltese socialist Daniel Attard, Bulgarian liberal Nikola Minchev and Salvatore De Meo of the European People's Party, who went public earlier this week to defend their innocence and pledged to cooperate with Belgian authorities.
Belgian authorities are investigating a scheme that was apparently used by Huawei lobbyists to advance the company's position in EU policymaking. They are looking into whether there was any payment for taking political positions, excessive gifts, paid travel and invitations to events. Any misconduct is said to have occurred between 2021 and the end of 2024.
Martusciello's name was mentioned in previous reports because his assistant was arrested in Italy as part of the ongoing investigation.
A request to lift a legislator's immunity does not necessarily mean there is a violation, but it is necessary for the police to be able to summon them for questioning and investigate them.
"My involvement in the Huawei case is a clear personal mistake," the Prince said, adding that she was in Italy at the time of the meeting she was accused of attending and had also not yet taken up her role as an MEP.
"Having full faith in justice, I believe that this clear mistake will be clarified as soon as possible," she said.
Martusciello did not respond to a request for comment, Politico reports.
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