“The European Parliament’s request has been received today and is currently being considered,” Rita Stundienė, spokeswoman for the Prosecutor General’s Office, told BNS on Monday.
The European Parliament’s Committee on Legal Affairs has decided to invite the Lithuanian prosecutor general to explain the facts regarding an ongoing corruption investigation involving Paksas.
Robertas Pogorelis, the European Parliament’s spokesman in Lithuania, has described the invitation as something very unusual in the parliament’s practice
Lithuanian prosecutors last spring asked the European Parliament to lift the immunity of Paksas. They suspect that Gedvydas Vainauskas, CEO of the media group Lietuvos Rytas, offered a 10,000-euro bribe to Paksas for pressuring construction inspectors to authorize the opening of a new Norfa retail store in Prienai, a town in southern Lithuania.
Both Paksas and Vainauskas have denied the suspicions against them, branding the case as politicized. Paksas has told the daily Lietuvos Rytas that the European Parliament’s decision to ask for explanation from Pasilis has given him “more trust in the EU’s justice”.
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