Committee recommends stripping of MPs’ immunity over EU subsidy abuse allegations

The lower house’s Mandate and Immunity Committee has recommended that deputies Josef Novotný of the Social Democrats and Jaroslav Borek of the Communist Party be stripped of their parliamentary immunity. The police want to charge both MPs with abuse of EU subsidies in connection with a regional programme in the northwest of the country. The Chamber of Deputies should decide on whether to remove their immunity during its current session. Two dozen people, including politicians, senior civil servants and business people, have already been charged over the alleged corruption.