A narrow majority in the European Parliament’s legal affairs committee has voted against lifting the parliamentary immunity of Italian left-wing MEP Ilaria Salis. Salis is being investigated by the Hungarian justice system over her alleged part in a violent attack in the streets of Budapest. Hungary had requested the European Parliament to lift her immunity in order to prosecute her but in a secret ballot, 13 MEPs voted against and 12 in favour. “This is an important and positive signal,” Salis said on Facebook in reaction to the vote. “I expect that Hungary will appeal to the European Court of Justice.”“No surprise here”, Hungarian foreign minister Péter Szijjártó noted.