Vladimir Karpiński. He's in custody, but he's going to the Europarliament

Fourth yet first

Radio RMF FM gave this message and showed Karpiński's handwritten message to the talker of the Polish Parliament, in which he agrees to be a associate of the European Parliament. Counselor Michał Królikowski, Karpiński's lawyer, confirmed this information.

This situation can be considered truly unusual, as Karpiński is inactive in custody and is waiting for the conclusion of the investigation into the alleged garbage scandal. Karpiński competed in the 2019 European Parliament election from the list of Citizens' Coalition. However, he obtained only 3.5 1000 votes and was 4th on the list. The highest number of votes was then won by Krzysztof Hetman (105 1000 votes), who for the last 4 and a half years was a Euro MP.

Sitting in prison, Włodzimierz Karpiński (PO, Warsaw garbage scandal, corruption) agreed to presume the function of Euro MP. The EP immunity will guarantee immunity. Doctrine Neumann became the authoritative tool of the group holding power in the EP. European Mafia.

— Gutab💯 ن (@BatugWojciech) November 8, 2023

After the elections to the Polish parliament in October everything changed. Hetman resigned from the mandate of the Euro MP and became a associate of the Sejm. Then, legally, the mandate of the Euro MP would be taken over by individual with a second consequence on the list. This place was occupied by Joanna Mucha with a consequence of 70,000 votes, but the politician just found herself in the Sejm. The 3rd place was taken by Riad Haidar (16,8 1000 votes), nevertheless he died on May 25 that year. Next on the list is Karpiński.

Is detention a barrier?

It is worth reminding at this point what was actually called a garbage scandal. He has been in custody since February. Karpiński is suspected of executing contracts worth PLN 600 million with the Municipal Purification Company in Warsaw. As a result, he heard the charge of accepting a property benefit of nearly PLN 5 million.

The question here is whether the fact that Karpiński is in custody is not blocking his way to the Europarliament. All indications are that this is not an highly large barrier. Łukasz Kempa, the European Parliament's press representative, explained to the Polish Press Agency that in order for Włodzimierz Karpiński to be able to take over the mandate, first the talker of the Sejm, as a typical of the Polish authorities, must inform the EP of his choice. Upon receipt of this information, the Europarliament shall send a declaration to the associate to complete. He then declares in writing that there are no obstacles preventing him from being given the mandate. Is it not, then, specified an obstacle to being in the others?

As you can see, the European Parliament can gain another corruption suspect. Not this time. QatargateBut the garbage scandal in Warsaw... good squad and this credibility and the immaculate image of the EP;) https://t.co/1SnzqhiQcu♪ Hang on ♪

— Piotr Nisztor 🇵🇱 (@Pnisztor) November 8, 2023

Kempara stressed that he did not. In order to qualify, a politician does not gotta swear. He must only sign the applicable papers stating that there are no circumstances relating to the fact that he is not prevented from exercising his mandate.

An expert's eye. Legality

Dr Marcin Górski of the University of Łódź, a specialist in European constitutional law, explained in an interview with PAP that “in accordance with the rules and jurisprudence of the Court of Justice of the EU, Vladimir Karpiński should be able to effectively take over the mandate of the Euro MP and should in rule be released from detention”.

However, there is simply a reservation. The Polish court has the right to disagree on the termination of the preventive measure. If a national court, while ensuring the effectiveness of EU law, considers that it cannot release Vladimir Karpiński, it should immediately ask the European Parliament to waive immunity. However, if the EP does not waive immunity, the man must be released immediately.

Zbigniew Ziobro himself referred to the case, who wrote on his social media:

And now the riddle. 'Our' fresh Euro MP, whose prosecutors fishy of multimillion bribes for setting bids for the collection of garbage in Warsaw, and the court put him in jail, will vote in Europarlamenta in the interests of Poland, or in the interests of the pro-German majority, which guarantees him the preservation of EU immunity?