The elected officials of Junts denounce with Puigdemont in Brussels that the Government has not investigated espionage against the independence movement

The deputies of the Parliament and of the Junts per Catalunya Congress, the senators and the MEPs will celebrate this Monday in Brussels, in the European Parliament, a working day with the participation of former president Carles Puigdemont, the president of the formation, Laura Borràs, and the general secretary, Jordi Turull.

Thomas Osborne
Thomas Osborne
07 November 2022 Monday 04:31
13 Reads
The elected officials of Junts denounce with Puigdemont in Brussels that the Government has not investigated espionage against the independence movement

The deputies of the Parliament and of the Junts per Catalunya Congress, the senators and the MEPs will celebrate this Monday in Brussels, in the European Parliament, a working day with the participation of former president Carles Puigdemont, the president of the formation, Laura Borràs, and the general secretary, Jordi Turull. Also at the meeting are former ministers and now MEPs Toni Comín and Clara Ponsatí.

This appointment, which has been taking place since this morning in the Politovskaya Hall, serves to support the former president of the Generalitat at a time when the European Parliament is once again reviewing his status as an MEP. In addition, the elected members of JxCat will also take the opportunity to denounce that Catalangate, the espionage of independence leaders with the Pegasus program, has not been investigated by the Government of Pedro Sánchez and that there is no will to do so.

The European Parliament analyzes the letter that the Central Electoral Board (JEC) sent this Thursday to the president of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, and which confirms that it has not been able to issue the MEP credentials of Carles Puigdemont, Toni Comín, Clara Ponsatí (JxCat ) and Jordi Solé (ERC) for not meeting the Spanish requirements for it.

In a letter, the president of the European Parliament had asked the Spanish electoral authority if these four politicians were on the list of the positions that were proclaimed elected in the 2019 European elections.

The European Parliament's legal team will now examine the consequences of this communication for the four MEPs, whose status they acquired thanks to the 2019 European Court of Justice ruling on ERC leader Oriol Junqueras, which established that MEP status it is acquired with the proclamation of the results, regardless of any subsequent formality.

For the Central Electoral Board, on the other hand, the credentials of these four elected MEPs "could not be issued" due to the "explicit will of those affected" of "not meeting" the requirements of Spanish law to acquire the full status of deputies . In addition, they invite the four MEPs to go to the Congress of Deputies to promise or swear to the Constitution in order to receive their credentials as MEPs and they consider that their "seat should remain temporarily vacant until such compliance is made, with the consequent suspension of their rights and prerogatives".

The JEC also recalls that the European Parliament decided to "de facto" recognize Puigdemont and the other three pro-independence leaders as MEPs "without hearing the Central Electoral Board" and against its criteria, despite not having the power to resolve controversies under national law, as recognized by a judgment of the General Court of the European Union on July 6, which the former Catalan president has appealed.

The absence of the credentials of these four deputies is an unprecedented situation in the history of the European Parliament that leaves the status of these four deputies in the air, who according to parliamentary sources could "lose prerogatives attached to the position" (such as salaries or the right to vote) or keep their seat temporarily. Another option, according to the same sources, is that its minutes remain vacant, in which case the seat would correspond to the following members of the 2019 electoral list.

Following this communication from the JEC, the current situation of the four MEPs will remain unchanged until the President of the European Parliament makes a decision.

The vice president and spokesman for Junts, Josep Rius, accused the JEC on Friday of launching a "new campaign against exile" and, in particular, against Puigdemont, by questioning his status as an MEP. According to Rius, "the JEC has made a fool of itself again", since MEPs obtain their status as such "thanks to the votes of the people", and "not because an organization forces them to make acts of faith". Rius also stressed that Puigdemont's MEP status "is recognized by the General Court of the European Union."