The top Norwegian politician, who was revealed to have links to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, led the Council of Europe from 2009 to 2019.
Norway's economic crime agency Økokrim decided last week to open a corruption investigation against Jagland based on information that emerged in the Epstein documents. That includes a planned family trip to Epstein's private island.
Epstein also allegedly paid medical bills for Jagland in New York. Jagland also borrowed the sex offender's apartments in New York and Paris, and had Epstein visit him in Strasbourg.
The lifting of immunity, which would allow Økokrim to investigate the case, was expected, Jagland's lawyer Andreas Brosveet told NTB.
Jagland takes this "very seriously" and will cooperate with the investigation, the lawyer said.
The Council of Europe's decision to lift immunity comes after a request from Norway's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
"It is very important that the issue is investigated as thoroughly as possible," said Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide, according to NTB.
Facts: Council of Europe
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The Council of Europe, based in Strasbourg, was founded in 1949 after an idea from former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.
The organization has nothing to do with the EU and brings together almost all countries on the continent, except Russia (which was expelled in 2022), Belarus, Kosovo and the Vatican City.
The Council of Europe is best known for its court, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), which handles cases in which member states are accused of violating the Council's European Convention on Human Rights.
