European Parliament doubts ex-president Carles Puigdemont’s seat is legal

The European Parliament assured yesterday General Court of the European Union He said former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont accepted the seat as “probably illegal” at the hearing, where his defense requested the annulment of the petition because it contained “political persecution”.

Puigdemont’s appeal to the European Parliament to have his immunity lifted was seen yesterday for his sentencing after more than five hours of hearing, in which Parliamentary lawyer Norbert Lorenz argued that the institution had treated the former president “totally right”. way. ».

So much so that “it was allowed to sit in the European Parliament in January 2020 and, as we saw in a judgment of the General Court, probably illegally”, because the European Parliament “I have not received any notice of what” Other MEPs Toni Comín and Clara Ponsatí from Puigdemont and Junts per Catalunya (JxCAT) could be parliamentarians.

Following the decision of the EU Court of Justice on the case of ERC leader Oriol Junqueras, three deputies were admitted to the seat with the permission of former Parliament Speaker David Sassoli. Announcement of the results of the European elections.

Therefore, “Parliament has actually been extremely open and correct towards the applicants. He also handled the request for the suspension of immunity completely correctly,” said Lorenz.

Puigdemont’s attorney Gonzalo BoyeInstead, he argued that this was a case of “political persecution” and demanded the annulment of the request, noting that the proof of this was the reform of the crime of sedition proposed by the Spanish Government, which is already underway. by the Congress of Deputies. “It is publicly known and notorious that several key Spanish ministers and Prime Minister himself, Mr. . .

«How many cases do you know of in a Member State where the Criminal Code was changed to obtain extradition? I just know that,” continued Puigdemont’s lawyer.

State Attorney Andrea Gavela LlopisOn the other hand, he denied that there was political persecution as the Spanish legal system was the “guarantor”.

As he put it, Spain’s Supreme Court has issued Euro orders against MPs who fled to Belgium to “ensure” that they “take part in criminal proceedings” for events that occurred “long before” the European elections. And “under applicable Spanish law, it was not even possible to arrive at summary conclusions or to prosecute without being present in the presence of the appellants, because it is a system of guarantees that establishes precisely this requirement in court in the interest of the plaintiffs’ right of defence,” added Llopis.

Impartiality

Boye also defended the annulment of the request, arguing that Adrián Vázquez, Member of the European Parliament of Ciudadanos, chair of the European Parliament’s Legal Affairs committee that analyzed the Supreme Court’s request, was not impartial throughout the process because he was part of a party. showed “hostility” to pro-independence leaders. According to the lawyer, the report’s rapporteur, Angel Dzhambazki, who recommended the lifting of immunity, was not the initiator as he was part of the same political group in the European Parliament (ECR) where Vox is registered. cause of the process.

Congress takes the first step to end sedition

PSOE and United We Can’s proposal to quell the crime of sedition will definitively pass through Congress, which on Thursday night approved the initiative’s work and sees it as a payment, after a fierce debate with the opposition’s criticism of the Executive. to independence.

Towards 1 am, after a marathon assembly day in which the Government ran the 2023 General Budget, the lower house voted 187 yes, 155 against and 6 abstentions.