The European Parliament has once again sparked controversy after voting to strip four Polish MEPs of their parliamentary immunity, a move that underscores the political bias within the EU’s institutions.
In a series of votes held in Strasbourg on Tuesday, April 28th, lawmakers approved requests from Polish prosecutors to lift the protections of Grzegorz Braun, Daniel Obajtek, Patryk Jaki, and Tomasz Buczek. The decisions pave the way for legal proceedings in Poland.
All four politicians are associated with right-wing or conservative parties, a fact that has fuelled accusations of selective justice. Polish right-wing MEPs have become frequent targets of immunity waivers
Braun, a radical-right politician, has now had his immunity lifted for the fifth time. His latest case relates to a protest in Jedwabne, northeastern Poland, where he is accused of blocking roads during commemorations of the 1941 massacre of Jewish residents.
Obajtek, the former chief executive of state energy firm Orlen, faces allegations ranging from violating press laws—after ordering petrol stations to withdraw a magazine critical of Pope John Paul II—to giving false testimony.
Jaki, a senior figure in the conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party, is being pursued over defamation claims brought by a judge whom he accused of authorising the use of Pegasus spyware by the security services.
Meanwhile, Buczek faces accusations of assault after allegedly snatching a megaphone from a female demonstrator.
Obajtek said Tuesday’s vote gave Poland’s current government “the green light to continue repressing political opponents,” while Jaki described the proceedings as an attempt to “persecute the political competition.”
Senior PiS figures echoed those concerns.
Przemysław Czarnek, the party’s candidate for prime minister, argued that stripping immunity for “speaking the truth and defending values” demonstrated the misuse of state institutions for political ends.
Party leader Jarosław Kaczyński accused the European Parliament of enabling “further repression” against opposition politicians and punishing those who defend religious and national values.
Kolejny raz Parlament Europejski wyraził zgodę na dalsze represje wobec polityków opozycji.
Patryk Jaki szkalowany jest za to, że powiedział prawdę, iż za czasów PiS kontrola operacyjna była stosowana tylko po wyrażeniu zgody przez sąd.
Z kolei Danielowi Obajtkowi zabrano…
— Jarosław Kaczyński (@OficjalnyJK) April 28, 2026
The fact that the European Parliament has been inclined to decline lifting immunity for left-leaning or liberal MEPs reveals a double standard.
The most notable case is of the Italian radical left-wing MEP Ilaria Salis: she is wanted by prosecutors in Hungary for participating in a series of attacks organised by a German left-wing militant group linked to Antifa. The members of the group surrounded and bludgeoned nine innocent people with telescopic batons and hammers on the streets of Budapest.
She was saved by the European Parliament, including with the help of the centre-right European People’s Party, a supposedly conservative group focused on defending the ‘rule of law.’
Meanwhile, German right-wing MEP Petr Bystron’s immunity was lifted last year for the crime of tweeting an image depicting former and current German leaders doing what appears to be the Nazi salute.
These decisions are symptomatic of the state of affairs in Brussels and Strasbourg.
While Brussels previously froze EU funds for Poland during the tenure of the conservative-led government over alleged ‘rule-of-law violations,’ it is now ignoring similar concerns under Poland’s current liberal government under Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
The Tusk government—since taking power in December 2023—has targeted former PiS officials, arrested ex-ministers, purged state institutions, and ignored court rulings, yet the EU remains silent.