Together joins the European Democratic Party

BarcelonaJunts per Catalunya formalized this Monday its integration into the European Democratic Party (PDE), an adhesion that had been being finalized for months as the ARA advanced. With this step, the party led by Carles Puigdemont closes a long period of political orphanhood on the Old Continent, which dated back to 2018. It was that year when the PDECat was expelled from the Party of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) under pressure from Ciutadans and in a context marked by accusations of corruption against the formation then led by David Bonvehí for the 3% case.

In a statement, Junts has framed the adhesion within the will to join a "federalist, centrist space with a strong commitment to civil and social rights". The party emphasizes that this move allows them to gain weight and influence in key European Union debates. Along these lines, Secretary General Jordi Turull has celebrated the agreement as a "great step forward" for the Junts' foreign strategy; a milestone that, as they have highlighted on social media, consolidates their commitment to a Europe "respectful of the Catalan national issue".

For its part, the European Democratic Party – chaired by former French Prime Minister François Bayrou and which already includes the PNB and Coalición Canaria – has welcomed Junts, arguing that "European integration, federalism, and respect for territorial diversity go hand in hand". The organization has stressed that a strong Europe is one that "values its nations" and has demanded that the ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union on the amnesty "must be implemented in accordance" with the legal order. A support that, as Junts highlights, is accompanied by the solidarity of the European party with the victims of Pegasus and the rejection of the "maneuvers" by the Court of Auditors to delay the grace period.

The obstacles

Despite the success of the agreement, the path to accession has been full of obstacles. In recent months, the incorporation had been stalled by some internal criticism of the PDE's secretary general, the Italian Sandro Gozi, for having led the talks supposedly with a lack of transparency. The main stumbling block, however, was caused by the Belgian formation Els Compromesos, a francophone and centrist party that viewed Junts' entry with suspicion due to the historical relationship of Puigdemont's party with the Flemish NVA – integrated into the far-right group of European Conservatives and Reformists.

Junts' entry into the PDE is part of the strategy to align itself with the European socio-liberal center. The PDE is integrated within the parliamentary group Renew Europe (RE), the fifth force in the hemicycle with, until now, 77 MEPs, and allies of the pro-European majority that supports Ursula von der Leyen at the head of the European Commission. However, the agreement does not guarantee that the elected MEP of Junts, Toni Comín, will automatically enter RE. Comín cannot yet act as an MEP because the Spanish authorities require him to swear the Constitution in person in Madrid, and he would risk arrest because the amnesty has not been applied to him. In any case, if he manages to act as an MEP, he will have to negotiate his entry into one of the parliamentary groups, as he already tried without success in the previous legislature.