EU court overturns fines against lawmaker

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An EU court has annulled fines imposed on a Polish member of the European Parliament for making disparaging remarks about women and migrants, arguing on Thursday that the penalties were not in line with the legislature’s procedural rules.

EU lawmaker Janusz Korwin-Mikke, who has no political affiliation, made the remarks during a 2016 debate on EU migration policies and a debate in 2017 about the gender pay gap.

Among other things, he said in the 2017 debate that women should earn less than men because “they are weaker, they are smaller and they are less intelligent.’’

The parliament cancelled Korwin-Mikke’s daily subsistence allowance for a total of 40 days over the 2016 and 2017 remarks, which amounted to about 12,200 Euros (14,250 dollars), and suspended him for a total of 15 days.

In 2017 he was also banned for a year from representing the legislature.

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Korwin-Mikke challenged the decisions before the EU’s General Court.

In spite of the “particularly shocking nature” of his comments, the parliament was not entitled to impose any disciplinary sanctions, the judges found, noting that penalties can only be imposed if parliament has been disrupted.

“This was not the case,’’ the Luxembourg-based judges noted.

They ordered parliament to repay Korwin-Mikke’s allowance for the days in question, but rejected a request of his for additional compensation.

The decision can be challenged within two months before the European Court of Justice, the bloc’s top tribunal.

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