Bank account of Italian MEP Ilaria Salis garnished over unpaid legal fees

Garnishment over unpaid legal fees

Lawyers representing two former parliamentary assistants to Italian Member of the European Parliament Ilaria Salis have initiated third-party garnishment proceedings against her bank account. The enforcement procedure targets approximately €7,000 in unpaid legal costs resulting from dismissed court motions. The targeted account receives the monthly salary and official allowances that Salis earns as an elected lawmaker in the European Parliament for the Alleanza Verdi e Sinistra group.

The enforcement measure stems from two separate civil proceedings in which Salis attempted to freeze an earlier labour judgment. While the primary compensation order remains subject to an ongoing appeal, the legal costs assessed against her following the rejection of her emergency petitions became immediately enforceable. Creditor representatives subsequently filed the attachment against her banking institution to recover the unpaid court fees.

Dismissal of parliamentary assistants

The dispute traces back to February 2025, when Salis dismissed staff members Valentina Dadda and François Gelmetti roughly one year after hiring them. Both assistants worked under collaborative contracts (co.co.co.) to support her European legislative work. The termination letters cited performance issues, including delays by the assistants in responding to emails, and ended their employment without notice.

Dadda and Gelmetti contested their firings in court, arguing that the terminations lacked just cause and violated terms intended to cover the five-year parliamentary mandate. The Milan Labour Court ruled in favor of the assistants in the first-instance verdict, finding the dismissals unlawful. The court ordered Salis to pay nearly €300,000 in total compensation, corresponding to the earnings both assistants would have collected through the end of the legislative term. Under the ruling, Gelmetti was awarded €153,000 and Dadda was awarded €147,900.

Failed attempts to halt enforcement

Before the summer recess in 2026, Salis submitted two distinct civil petitions seeking to stay the execution of the first-instance ruling. Her filings sought to block the formal enforcement notices served by the assistants. Her legal representatives argued that collection activities should not proceed while the substantive merits of the case remained under appellate review.

The Milan court held hearings on both emergency requests in August 2026. The judges rejected both applications in full and ordered Salis to reimburse the legal expenses incurred by the two assistants during the interim proceedings. When the resulting €7,000 in procedural costs was not remitted following the August rulings, the legal representatives of Dadda and Gelmetti moved forward with the third-party account attachment.

Legal arguments and upcoming appeal

Salis has contested the first-instance judgment on procedural and substantive grounds. She asserted that she was not aware of the initial court action despite formal notifications delivered to her Milan residence. In public statements, the lawmaker maintained that the employment relationship had collapsed entirely and expressed confidence regarding the outcome of the appeal.

We weren't even talking anymore.

The Milan appellate court is scheduled to hear the substantive appeal in October 2026. The principal compensation award of nearly €300,000 remains suspended until the appellate judges issue a final determination on the legality of the 2025 dismissals.