Concern of the liberals of the Eurochamber for the complaint of harassment against Comín

BarcelonaThe case of alleged harassment by Toni Comín has reached the offices of the Liberal group in the European Parliament. European parliamentary sources explain to ARA that the leadership of Renew is studying and gathering information on how it may evolve the complaint against the former minister for harassment psychological, physical and sexual in light of the possibility that Junts may formally request to join this group in the coming weeks. The main concern for the leaders of the liberal family is that the internal investigation in the European Parliament might be reopened or a new one initiated that could damage the image of the liberal family.

Sources from the liberal group assert that they are interested in growing and adding a new MEP, although not at any price. They want to avoid the image of signing a new representative only for them to find themselves in the middle of harassment controversies shortly after, even if it is due to cases from the past. The problem, however, is that Comín's case is exceptional and has no precedent. No one is certain how it will proceed, not even the technical services of the community chamber themselves.

Let's recall. The former Minister of Health was not a full member of the European Parliament when the Eurochamber opened an investigation against him regarding the alleged harassment of a former Junts advisor. The European parliamentary committee in charge of the case could not summon Comín himself to defend himself against the accusations and give his version, even though it concluded that had collected "enough evidence" to take him to court. The President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, could not apply any sanction to him because the Spanish Central Electoral Board had not granted him his credentials as an MEP (it required him to pledge to the Constitution in Madrid, which he did last week).

However, now that the Junts member has recovered the seat, Renew fears that the case will be reopened. The worst-case scenario, in their view, is that the former advisor will again report Comín to the European Parliament. In this case, parliamentary sources point out that events that took place in this institution can be reported even if he no longer works there, but they admit that they do not know if they would legally have to launch a new investigation that leverages the evidence and testimonies from the previous one, or complete the one that was already opened. In both situations, Metsola could now actually apply a sanction to Comín based on the resolution issued by the committee of inquiry and announce it at a European Parliament plenary session.

Another possibility is that the former advisor decides not to make a move. However, in this case it is also not certain that the internal investigation will be considered dead. Parliamentary sources recall that harassment cases in the community chamber that have surfaced in recent years have become a very sensitive matter for the European Parliament and, above all, for its presidency. Thus, the same sources do not rule out that Metsola might reactivate the investigation on her own initiative. When asked by this newspaper, the European Parliament president's team avoided announcing any move or evaluating the case.

Renew has already been splashed by harassment cases in the past. The European Parliament sanctioned the liberal Luxembourger Monica Semedo on two occasions, in 2021 and 2023, and withdrew her per diem compensation for 15 and 10 days, which amounted to 10,000 euros. However, Semedo took the sanction to European justice and Luxembourg overturned it because it considered that the European Parliament did not respect her right to a defense. On the other hand, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) did validate the Eurochamber's reprimand against the former Citizens MEP Ramón Bauzá for harassment.

Comín's reservations

There is another investigation into Comín open within Junts due to two internal complaints also for harassment. The leadership of Renew is, however, less concerned about this second investigation —reopened a few months ago— because sources from the liberal family doubt that the party will end up ruling against Comín.

Junts is part of the European Democratic Party, which is affiliated with the Renew group in the European Parliament. Therefore, it is most natural for Junts representatives to be part of the liberal parliamentary family, which also includes the Basque Nationalist Party. In this regard, Junts sources advocate for their only MEP to request entry into Renew. However, Comín, who is part of the left-wing sector of Junts, resists confirming whether he will choose to join the liberal family. In fact, until now he has left the door open to integrating into other parliamentary groups in the European Parliament or remaining as a non-attached member.