Together choose family in Europe

Barcelona/BrusselsJunts has chosen a political family in Europe. After it was orphaned in 2018, Carles Puigdemont's party is about to join the European Democratic Party (EDP), which is integrated into the liberal group in the European Parliament, Renew. Several sources consulted by ARA explain that the separatists are finalizing their entry, although it has stalled at the last moment due to internal reluctance from the European centrist and social-liberal party.

Both parties have almost sealed the affiliation, but the approval of the executive and the various parties that make up the European family is still pending. It is at this point that differences have arisen. Some voices criticize that the general secretary, the Italian Sandro Gozi, has negotiated the incorporation of Junts members with little transparency and without considering the opinion of the various sensitivities, and they also oppose it for political reasons.

One of the parties that make up the EDP that is putting up the most obstacles is the Belgian Les Engagés, which only has one MEP. It is a French-speaking and centrist party, therefore ideologically distant from the Flemish NVA, with whom Junts has historically maintained a very good relationship. The president of the party and Belgian Prime Minister, Bart De Wever, himself called Puigdemont an "\"\"\"friend\"\"\"" when the former president of the Generalitat arrived in Waterloo. Although De Wever has moderated his positions, the NVA is integrated into the far-right group in the European Parliament, European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR).

Contacts between Junts, which already put forward the choice of the European family "before Christmas", and the EDP date back some time. However, there is no prospect of imminent approval. If the European party's executive gives the green light, it will then have to be ratified in a party congress. One is held each year—usually in the autumn—and the last one took place in Bilbao last November. It could be brought forward if the EDP decides to organize an extraordinary congress to accelerate Junts' affiliation, something that the same sources consider very unlikely.

In any case, the path is set to seal the entry into the EDP, founded by former French Prime Minister François Bayrou, a centrist figure. The EDP, which also includes the PNB and Coalició Canària, is part of the social-liberal center and also includes liberals of a more progressive tendency. Some voices even recall the experiment of the former mayor of Barcelona, Pasqual Maragall, who when he ceased to be president explored the idea that Bayrou had had with the European Catalan Party.

Liberals are the fifth force in the European Parliament with 77 MEPs, but they play an important role because they are part of the so-called broad pro-European majority, along with the European People's Party (EPP) and the Party of European Socialists (PES). These are the forces that, with the additional support of the Greens and part of the ECR, provide parliamentary support to Ursula von der Leyen's European Commission, although in the Eurochamber voting discipline is much more fluid than, for example, in the Parliament of Catalonia or the Congress.

The future of Comín

The PDECat was expelled from the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) group in the European Parliament in 2018 on the grounds of corruption and in a context of significant pressure exerted by Citizens, which was also part of the parliamentary group. Since then, it has been left out in the cold and,, despite some attempts, has not yet managed to join any party at the European level.

However, even if the talks end successfully, it does not mean that the elected MEP for Junts, Toni Comín, will automatically join the Renew group in the Eurochamber if he is recognized as a full MEP. Some parties have MEPs in various parliamentary groups. With CiU, for example, Convergence representatives joined ALDE and the Christian Democrats of Unió opted for the European People's Party (EPP).

Currently, however, Comín cannot yet act as an MEP because the Spanish authorities require him to swear the Constitution in person in Madrid to obtain his seat. The amnesty has not yet been applied to him and, therefore, he would risk being arrested. In any case, if he manages to serve as an MEP, he will have to negotiate his entry into one of the parliamentary groups, as he already tried unsuccessfully in the previous legislature. The trend is for EDP and Liberal Alliance MEPs to join Renew, but there are exceptions. It should be remembered that Junts has three official ideological currents – the liberal, the social democratic, and the left-wing – and that Comín belongs to the left-wing one.