The Advocate General of the Court of Justice of the European Union rejects the appeal by Puigdemont, Ponsatí, and Comín against the withdrawal of immunity by the European Parliament.

BrusselsThe Advocate General of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has rejected the appeal filed by Carles Puigdemont, Clara Ponsatí and Toni Comín against the decision of the European Parliament. to withdraw their immunity in March 2021 At the request of the Supreme Court, which wanted to try the exiled Junts MEPs for sedition, embezzlement, and disobedience in the case of the October 1, 2017 referendum. Thus, the Advocate General's ruling coincides with the ruling of the European Court of First Instance. Puigdemont, Ponsatí, and Comín appealed to the CJEU.

Regarding Puigdemont and Ponsatí, Advocate General Maciej Szpunar believes that there is no need for the CJEU to rule on their cases because they are no longer MEPs and, therefore, the ruling would not affect them in any way. "They are no longer of interest," the Advocate General asserts. However, in the case of Comín, Szpunar asserts that he does have "interest" and believes that the European Parliament did well in removing his parliamentary protection and dismissing the arguments of the appeal, which is the same as those presented by the former president in exile and the former Minister of Education.

The Advocate General considers that the The CJEU did not make any error in concluding The European Parliament had not violated the rights of the former Junts MEPs and asserted that it handled the case "impartially" and "fairly." It also rejected the argument that the European Parliament had any objective of harming the political activity of Puigdemont, Ponsatí, and Comín, and dismissed the "lack of clarity" in the European Parliament's decision.

A non-binding pronouncement

In any case, Szpunar's position is not binding and the final judgment rests in the hands of the CJEU, although the rulings of the highest court usually coincide in most cases with the positions expressed by the Advocate General. Furthermore, apart from being a non-binding ruling, it has no immediate effect because none of the three involved is currently an MEP, nor is Comín. Normally, the CJEU issues a ruling months after the Advocate General's ruling, and therefore, it is likely to be published early next year.

As the Advocate General points out, Puigdemont and Ponsatí did not run on lists in the European Parliament elections and are not represented in the European Parliament. However, Comín, although the European Parliament did not award him a seat because he did not swear to the Constitution, was elected as an MEP. In fact, It is another decision that the former Minister of Health has been brought before the Luxembourg courts and is expected to be resolved in the coming months.

Although it's now a judicial ruling with no immediate effect, the lifting of the immunity of the then Junts MEPs raised a lot of eyebrows at the time. It was a decision that was a key step toward handing the former president and former councilors over to the Spanish justice system.