Watch: Request to waive Daniel Attard's immunity announced in EP

The request for Daniel Attard’s immunity to be lifted, along with that of another four MEPs, was formally announced in the European Parliament last night.

European Parliament President Roberta Metsola told the EP plenary that she had “received requests from the competent authorities in Belgium” for the parliamentary immunity of five MEPs to be waived.

Aside from Attard, the MEPs are Salvatore De Meo, Fulvio Martusciello, Nikola Minchev and Giusi Princi.

De Meo and Minchev, like Attard, chose to go public in recent days with the request for their immunity to be lifted. Meanwhile, Martusciello has previously been linked to the probe, after his parliamentary assistant was arrested in recent weeks.

The request will be referred to the Committee on Legal Affairs, Metsola said in a brief statement.

The committee will now be tasked with evaluating the request, summoning the MEPs to hear their accounts, before recommending whether immunity should be lifted or not.

The matter will ultimately be decided through a vote in the EP plenary.

The process is usually lengthy, but sources say that it is likely to be fast-tracked, particularly given Attard’s own request for his immunity to be lifted.

Lifting parliamentary immunity will allow investigators to question the MEPs and, if necessary, request to access documentation or communication logs between the MEPs, their assistants and other relevant parties.

Attard was named by Belgian police in a bribery probe after he attended a football match in the presence of a Huawei lobbyist.

Attard says he was unaware that the invitation to attend originated from a lobbyist, vowing to clear his name.