Portuguese authorities have requested the lifting of the immunity of PS MEP Francisco Assis, the President of the European Parliament announced on Thursday, March 26, in connection with a defamation case brought by jurist Alexandre Guerreiro. The case concerns statements made by Francisco Assis in March 2022, in which he claimed that jurist and television commentator Alexandre Guerreiro was disgracing the Portuguese state and should be removed from the Presidency of the Council of Ministers. The current PS MEP, who was then president of the Economic and Social Council (CES), stated that Alexandre Guerreiro was a 'collaborator of the autocratic and criminal power installed in the Kremlin,' and therefore could not 'be associated with the nerve centre of Portuguese executive political power.' In response, Alexandre Guerreiro accused Francisco Assis of 'slander' on Facebook, stating the matter would be resolved in the appropriate forum. The request will now be reviewed by the European Parliament's Committee on Legal Affairs before a recommendation is issued to the plenary.