ÁLVARO SÁNCHEZ BERNARDO DE MIGUEL
Bruselas 10 ENE 2020
The European Parliament announced Friday that withdrew Oriol Junqueras the status of MEP, after it was informed by the Supreme Court on Thursday that the independence leader is firmly sentenced to 13 years in prison and disqualification for the sentence of the process. Sources of the House have advanced to this newspaper that stops considering the leader of ERC Europarliamentary for a week. “Taking into account the decision of the Central Electoral Board and in accordance with the decision of the Supreme Court, Junqueras’ mandate expired with effect from January 3, 2020,” said the president of the institution, David Sassoli, in a statement Made public this afternoon.
That day, the EuroCam received the communication from the Central Electoral Board in which it resolved that, in application of article 6.2 of the Organic Law of the General Electoral Regime, “those convicted by a final sentence under imprisonment are ineligible, during the period sentenced. ” However, the European Parliament does believe that in the first six months of the Junqueras legislature it was MEP, which could allow it to receive unpaid wages. “The mandates of Messrs Junqueras, Puigdemont and Comín began on July 2, 2019 as a result of the official declaration of the results of the European elections [held on May 26] by the competent Spanish authorities,” says Sassoli.
With its refusal to keep him in the post of MEP, the European Chamber interprets that it is not possible to oppose a decision of the Spanish justice, as explained by Sassoli himself. “According to the jurisprudence of the Court of Justice of the European Union, the European Parliament is obliged to take note without delay of the decisions taken definitively by the competent judicial authorities of the Member States.”
The defense of Junqueras has not given up, and has announced that it will resort to the General Court of the European Union. In their sentence of three weeks ago, the community magistrates left the responsibility of “appreciating the effects associated with the immunities enjoyed by Mr. Junqueras” to the Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court.
The measure, which will be officially communicated by the President of the European Parliament on January 13 at the beginning of the plenary session, comes one day after the European Parliament received the resolution whereby the Supreme Court considers that the ERC leader has been disabled to exercise as a parliamentarian and, therefore, does not grant him permission to attend the first session of 2020 this Monday in Strasbourg. The Eurocamara received the letter from the Spanish justice on Thursday around 2:15 pm and, after analyzing its content, the legal services have concluded that the former vice president of the Generalitat and leader of ERC has stopped being MEP and Spain must communicate “quickly “the name of your substitute.
The European Chamber, in this way, reverses the process that, under the argument of complying with the ruling of the Luxembourg Court, put into operation last Monday. At the beginning of the week he recognized Junqueras as a MEP in an internal note sent to the administrative services, included him in the list of parliamentarians on the web and enabled a mailbox with his name at his headquarters in Brussels, all in compliance with the ruling of the EU Court of Justice last December 19.
Among the members of the Eurocamara there have been immediate reactions to Junqueras running out of seats. The spokeswoman of the PP in the community capital, Dolors Montserrat, has celebrated the measure as “a new victory for the Democrats and a defeat for those who attempted against democracy and intend to use European institutions to lie and harm Spain.” His Ciudadanos party counterpart, Luis Garicano, has also applauded the result. “Immunity is not impunity. Junqueras is not, nor will be, MEP.” Vox MEP Jorge Buxadé believes that “there are still two pending injustices”, referring to the recognition as MEPs of former President Carles Puigdemont and former Minister Toni Comín. While the representative of United Podemos Sira Rego believes that judges may end up discrediting the European Parliament in the future. “He has joined the popular theater piece knowing that the result, once the channels are exhausted, will surely make them remain in evidence.”
The leader of the European socialists, the Spanish Iratxe García, has praised the figure of the president of the hemicycle. He believes that the Italian Sassoli, also a member of the Social Democratic family, has always been “scrupulous with the law”, but has asked the leader of the PP, Pablo Casado, not to seek to make the veto to Junqueras profitable for his own benefit. “Respect the institutions and stop using the Catalan question to derive political revenue because it damages the credibility of our legal system. Its irresponsibility ends up paying all,” he criticized.
NO NEWS FROM LLARENA SUPLICATORY
European Parliament sources said on Friday afternoon that they have not yet received the request – permission application – sent to the European Parliament by Supreme Court judge Pablo Llarena to proceed criminally against the former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont and former seller Toni Comín . The same sources indicate that the president of the European Parliament, David Sassoli, will inform the plenary when he receives it, and will immediately pass it to the Committee on Legal Affairs of the Chamber. The magistrate of the Supreme asks that his immunity be suspended so that Belgium can resume the euroorder issued against the independence leaders, although the process to deprive them of such protection can take months.
https://elpais.com/politica/2020/01/10/actualidad/1578667952_839834.html
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