The CJEU rules in favor of Puigdemont and annuls the European Parliament's decision to withdraw his immunity.

BrusselsEuropean justice rules in favor of Carles Puigdemont, Toni Comín, and Clara Ponsatí. The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) on Thursday overturned the decision of the March 2021 The European Parliament has ruled against removing the immunity of the former Junts MEPs at the request of the Spanish Supreme Court, which wanted to try them for sedition, misuse of public funds, and disobedience in the case of the October 1, 2017 referendum. Thus, the highest court in the European Parliament, along with the Advocate General of the CJEU, has accepted the appeal of the former president of the Generalitat and the former ministers. In any case, the ruling has no immediate effect because none of the three involved are currently MEPs, including Comín. Puigdemont and Ponsatí did not run in the European Parliament elections and therefore have no representation in the EU chamber. In the case of the former Minister of Health, although he was elected as an MEP, the European Parliament did not award him his seat because he did not swear allegiance to the Constitution. In fact,It is another decision that the former Minister of HealthThe case has been taken to the Luxembourg courts and must be resolved in the coming months. Thus, Thursday's ruling could only affect Comín if he has not yet been granted amnesty, obtains immunity throughout the EU, and is able to take his seat as a Member of the European Parliament.

Comín told ARA that Thursday's ruling will reactivate another case concerning the immunity that the elected MEP could enjoy throughout the EU. Should the CJEU again contradict the General Court of the EU, which dismissed this option in a ruling on July 5, 2023, and rule that he enjoys legal protection throughout the EU, including in Spain, the former Catalan Minister of Health could travel to Spain and, therefore, swear allegiance to the Constitution and receive his credentials.

Although this is now a judicial ruling without immediate effect, the removal of immunity from the then-Junts MEPs caused quite a stir at the time. It was a key step towards handing over the former president and former ministers in exile to Spanish justice. In any case, it represents a moral victory for the former Junts MEPs.

Vox and the impartiality of the European Parliament

Luxembourg has accepted the arguments presented by the defense of Puigdemont, Comín, and Ponsatí, asserting that the impartiality of the process cannot be guaranteed when Vox, the party that initiated the case against the President of the Generalitat and the former ministers, was also one of the European Parliament rapporteurs who decided to withdraw it (European Reformists Group). In this regard, Luxembourg considers that the "potential affinities between them may raise legitimate doubts about the impartiality of the rapporteur," the Bulgarian Angel Dzhambazki, and maintains that the European Parliament "must exclude a rapporteur who belongs to the same political group as members of the party that initiated the immunity proceedings." "The rapporteur may be perceived as biased, and their appointment is contrary to the right to good administration," the opinion concludes.

Furthermore, the CJEU highlights an "element particularly relevant due to the requirement of impartiality" which the GC "overlooked." On March 6, 2019, MEP Dzhambazki organized an event with the Secretary General of VOX at the European Parliament. Catalonia is part of SpainFurthermore, the highest court of European justice points out that the Spanish far-right party had already initiated proceedings against Puigdemont, Comín, and Ponsatí. This detail, according to Luxembourg, is not only "indicative" of the rapporteur's and Vox's "political views" on the situation in Catalonia, "but also of a position favorable to the prosecution of the MEPs."