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EU Parliament Panel Sets Sept. 23 Vote on Ilaria Salis’s Immunity as Orbán Hardens Line

The European People’s Party is seen as the swing bloc that could allow Budapest to restart a 2023 assault trial.

Overview

  • The European Parliament’s legal affairs committee is slated to vote on Sept. 23 at 11:00 on Hungary’s request to lift Salis’s immunity, with a plenary decision expected on Oct. 7.
  • Hungary seeks to proceed over alleged participation in a Feb. 2023 assault in Budapest, which Salis denies, with reports noting potential penalties that could reach 24 years in prison.
  • Government spokesman Zoltán Kovács replied to Salis’s public appeal by posting the coordinates of Márianosztra prison, a message widely read as an intimidation tactic.
  • Prime Minister Viktor Orbán says Hungary will designate Antifa a terrorist organization, and Kovács tied that rhetoric to Salis, while Italy’s foreign minister Antonio Tajani said he does not believe she is a terrorist.
  • ECR and the Patrioti favor revocation, Left/Greens/S&D oppose, and the EPP is viewed as decisive; if immunity is lifted, the trial in Budapest could resume and Hungary could seek a European Arrest Warrant.