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Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and is published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.
The European Public Prosecutor’s Office has asked Poland’s parliament to lift the legal immunity of an MP who is suspected of corruption relating to the use of EU funds.
It is the first time in history that the EPPO has issued such a request for a sitting Polish member of parliament. The suspect has not been officially named, but media reports indicate they are a member of Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s Civic Coalition (KO) party.
The EPPO in Katowice 🇵🇱 expands corruption probe involving tram modernisation in Upper Silesian-Zagłębie Metropolis. Today, the European Chief Prosecutor requested the lifting of immunity of a Member of Parliament for suspected trading in influence.
More: https://t.co/9Uao0AV8KM pic.twitter.com/y4YMbMlK9m— European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) (@EUProsecutor) May 5, 2026
The EPPO was established in 2021 in order to investigate and prosecute crimes against the financial interests of the EU. Under Poland’s former national-conservative, Eurosceptic Law and Justice (PiS) government, the country initially did not join the body.
However, after Tusk’s more liberal, pro-EU coalition replaced PiS in December 2023, one of its very first actions was to begin the process of joining the EPPO, which was completed in March 2024.
On Tuesday this week, the EPPO announced the European chief prosecutor, Laura Kövesi, had asked the Sejm, the lower house of Poland’s parliament, to lift the immunity of a serving MP.
He is accused of “suspected trading in influence…linked to the EU-funded modernisation of tram infrastructure in the Upper Silesian-Zagłębie Metropolis”, an agglomeration of municipalities in southern Poland that includes Katowice, a major city.
The EPPO says that its investigation pertains to alleged corruption relating to a company tasked with carrying out work on tram infrastructure, for which 1.9 billion zloty (€448.3 million) in EU funds was designated between 2007 and 2027.
One official, who was detained last December and remains in custody, is accused of providing confidential information to help the firm obtain contracts as part of a system that also involved inflated costs and fictitious work.
“The evidence also showed that, on several occasions, financial benefits were given to a member of parliament,” added the EPPO. However, for an MP to be charged, a majority in the Sejm must vote in favour of lifting their immunity.
On his first day in office, new justice minister @Adbodnar launched the process for Poland to join the @EUProsecutor's office.
He also reintroduced EU flags – alongside Polish ones – to the ministry after they disappeared under the previous government https://t.co/1cKce2aDfZ
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) December 14, 2023
In a separate statement, Poland’s Central Anti-Corruption Bureau (CBA) confirmed that its officers had been involved in the EPPO’s investigation, including conducting searches and arrests.
In December, the CBA detained four individuals suspected of involvement in corruption, with a further six arrested at the end of April. All were detained at the request of the EPPO.
The CBA also seized over 1 million zloty in cash and revealed that the suspects in the case are believed to have corruptly obtained benefits worth almost 2.7 million zloty.
📍 Funkcjonariusze Centralnego Biura Antykorupcyjnego prowadzą śledztwo pod nadzorem Prokuratury Europejskiej @EUProsecutor dotyczące zmowy przetargowej związanej z modernizacją infrastruktury tramwajowej na Śląsku. Prokurator Generalna EPPO złożyła wniosek o uchylenie immunitetu… pic.twitter.com/68WiFGtmtJ
— CBA (@CBAgovPL) May 5, 2026
Neither the EPPO nor the CBA named the MP accused of involvement in the operation. However, two leading media outlets – Gazeta Wyborcza, a liberal daily, and the Onet news website – have reported that it is Wojciech Król, an MP from Tusk’s centrist KO party.
Król, who represents an electoral district that covers the Upper Silesian-Zagłębie Metropolis, is a deputy chair of KO’s parliamentary caucus. He is also chairman of the National Media Council (RMN), a body that oversees state media outlets such as TVP, Polskie Radio and the Polish Press Agency (PAP).
At the time of writing, there had been no comment on the story from Król, KO or the Polish parliamentary authorities.
Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.
Main image credit: EPPO
Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.
