A well-known Polish political figure, Włodzimierz Karpiński, agreed to take the seat of a Member of the European Parliament. This move will shift his schedule from domestic detention to the longer, sometimes rumoured, corridors of Brussels and Strasbourg. A government minister—Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro—commented publicly on the situation.
On February 27, 2023, Karpiński was detained by the Central Bureau of Investigation agents. He faced accusations of corruption, and a court ordered a three-month temporary arrest to ensure ongoing investigations and court proceedings could proceed without delay.
The question many readers have asks why a former finance minister, who served under the government led by Donald Tusk and Ewa Kopacz, could be released from detention and assume a seat in the European Parliament. The controversy centers on a sequence of electoral and parliamentary moves: in 2019, the party’s candidate list yielded Krzysztof Hetman to the Sejm, not the European Parliament, leading to a potential replacement scenario. Joanna Mucha also entered the Sejm, which opened a different path for the eventual vacancy. The next waitlisted candidate for the European Parliament seat, Riad Haidar, passed away in May, which opened the path for Karpiński to receive the mandate. Karpiński subsequently sent a formal letter to the Sejm chair indicating his intent to accept the role.
Ziobro (as the Justice Minister) weighed in on the matter, presenting the official stance as the case moves forward within legal channels.
And now a puzzle for readers: a Member of Parliament, reportedly under investigation by the Public Prosecution Service for alleged multi-million-dollar bribe payments connected to waste-collection tenders in Warsaw, who has already been detained, will vote in the European Parliament in what interest—Poland’s, or a broader political majority that may preserve EU immunity? This question was posed by the Attorney General on a widely used social platform (previously known as Twitter). The ongoing situation marks an unusual moment where a person who was in custody could soon hold an office in Brussels, a shift that has sparked extensive discussion about legality, immunity, and political strategy in Poland and the EU.
— remarked a public figure in a recent post, highlighting the tension between domestic investigations and international responsibilities.
Experts note that the sequence of events illustrates how political career pathways can intersect with legal proceedings in complex ways, raising questions about fairness, accountability, and the potential impact on EU parliamentary voting. The unfolding case promises to become a talking point across Polish media and among observers of European governance, as the line between domestic law enforcement and transnational representation becomes increasingly blurred.
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Attribution: wPolityce