The meeting is expected to begin at around 1pm, and its recommendation will largely determine the next stage of the parliamentary process.
According to ERT, this case differs from previous ones involving a total of 11 MPs and two former ministers because the European Public Prosecutor’s Office is reported to have said it lacked jurisdiction.
The case was therefore forwarded to parliament by the Athens Court of First Instance prosecutor’s office, meaning it came through the Greek judiciary rather than the European Public Prosecutor’s Office.
New Democracy MP Tasos Hadjivassiliou says he is being investigated for an act that was never committed. He is expected to request that his immunity be lifted, most likely through a memorandum, in order, as he says, to ‘clarify’ the case.
Fellow New Democracy MP Charalambos Athanasiou has not yet indicated whether he will request the lifting of his immunity or whether he will appear before the committee. He rejects the allegation of breach of duty and says he has taken no illegal action.
The Ethics Committee will issue its recommendation, but the final decision will be taken by the parliamentary plenary on Wednesday 22 April.
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