21/02/2019 (Agence Europe) – The President of the European Parliament, Antonio Tajani, was questioned in an internal email by a group of transparent MEPs (ALDE, Greens/EFA and ECR MEPs from Belgium, Spain and Slovenia, Member States with a large Catalan minority) for preventing the former Catalan President, Carles Puigdemont, from accessing the European Parliament (see EUROPE 12196), for "security reasons", while allowing a conference organised by the Spanish far-right political party VOX, in particular with a procedure from his secretary general, Javier Ortega. A "double standard" unacceptable to the signatories of the said email, who consider that Mr Tajani has given in to pressure from Spanish EPP MEPs. The President defended himself in another email and explained that he had only acted on the advice of DG SAFE, charged with the security of Parliament. (PH)