Arm wrestling in Junts: Comín is reluctant to join the liberal group of the European Parliament

BarcelonaWhen Junts' accession to the liberal centrists of the European Democratic Party (EDP) was signed, the natural move was its integration into the Renew liberal group of the European Parliament. Within Junts, multiple voices were clear about this path, which reaffirms the commitment to centrism, the same as the PNV and what Convergència had followed. But all of this clashes with the will of the Junts MEP. As he expressed publicly this Monday, Toni Comín has reservations about entering this parliamentary group now that his rights as an MEP have been recognized, following his return from exile. Junts prefers not to make any public comment on the matter despite the questions from this newspaper.

Right now there is a situation of tense calm in the party where everything is possible. The arguments for Comín to join the Renew group are intact, but no one wants to break anything, which is why there hasn't been a war of statements. Comín has been harsh with Renew and this has caused confusion, but he hasn't been completely definitive. Be that as it may, he is aware that he has the final say on his future in the European Parliament and that there are only two and a half years left until the end of the term.

In the interview on Catalunya Ràdio, Comín recalled that he is part of the left-wing current within Carles Puigdemont's party, which is "transversal," and that the majority ideological sector is "social democratic" ahead of the liberal one. Thus, he defended behaving in the "most coherent way possible" with his positions, but "understanding that internal tension should not be brought to unsustainable levels." "I have not requested admission to the liberal group, because this is also a much more sophisticated debate than some think," he concluded.

Comín separates the fact that Junts recently signed an integration agreement with the PDE from joining Renew, despite their connection. "It is very good that Junts has made an agreement and joined the European Democratic Party, but one thing is the PDE and another is the liberal group," he concluded. And he still attacked "the current MEPs" of Renew harshly: "This group were some gentlemen who four days ago thought that I should go to prison for thirteen years," he pointed out, and recalled that they voted in favor of the waiver of immunity – although at that time it was Ciutadans that exercised its influence in the liberal group, as it had exercised previously to expel Convergència from the parliamentary group in the Eurochamber. His criticism also extended for ideological reasons: "The largest delegation of Renew are the French liberals, those of Macron. Macronism is a political space in decomposition," he finished.

Some statements that contrast with an important line of the party and its leadership. In this sense, the head of international policy for Junts, Aleix Sarri, defended in an interview with El Nacional "Junts' alliance with the PDE, as well as with Renew Europe": "This goes much further than all of us and does not depend on individuals". He was responding regarding the possible political consequences for the harassment complaint against Comín, but he did so by taking for granted the pact with Renew to enter the Eurochamber group. He assumed it in the interview as a notable part of the party. "We have conducted an in-depth analysis of what possibilities existed and we have reached the conclusion that where Junts could be truly useful was in a family in which three values are very linked to us: centrality, pro-Europeanism, and that the European Democratic Party has sensitivity for stateless nations and national minorities," he defended. Regarding the relationship with Renew, he added that "it does help" that parties like Ciutadans have disappeared from the political map.

Controversy

Beyond Renew, Comín has few alternatives in the European Parliament when choosing a parliamentary group. Three of the eight forces present are far-right; there are the Social Democrats, which include the PSOE; the Christian Democrats, in which the PP is found; and The Left, to which Sumar and Podemos are affiliated. The family in which, besides Renew, he could feel comfortable is the Greens. The problem, however, is that ERC is already there, and in the past, they had already shown themselves to be reluctant to allow the entry of the 'juntaires' into the ecological family.

Sources from the European Parliament assert that being part of a parliamentary group gives MEPs more visibility, provides more technical and financial support, and offers more advantages when carrying out parliamentary procedures. In this sense, non-attached members, unless they obtain at least forty signatures to push it forward, cannot present resolutions or amendments, nor propose changes to the parliamentary agenda. They also cannot chair committees and find it more complicated to act as rapporteurs or participate in the discussion of reports.