All Spanish MEPs have been denied provisional accreditation in the European Parliament, reports the Spanish and Belgian press on Friday 31 May.
Originally, the measure was aimed at the former Catalan President and pro-independence leader, Carles Puigdemont, and his former Minister, Toni Comin. These two independentists were elected, but could not enter the European Parliament due to a decision by Parliament Secretary General Klaus Welle, according to the Belgian newspaper Le Soir. The independentists were unable to appear before the Spanish Electoral Committee to validate their election. And for good reason: if they did, they would be immediately arrested by the Spanish authorities. However, for the independentists, this is a discriminatory situation.
At the request of the three Presidents of the Spanish delegations, the People's Party (EPP), Socialist Party (PES) and Ciudadanos, on the grounds of a risk of "political disturbances in Spain", the President of the European Parliament, Antonio Tajani, decided to suspend all temporary accreditations of Spanish elected representatives.
Last week was full of events for Catalan independence fighters, the latter having been the subject of an unfavourable decision by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) and, in contrast, a favourable statement by the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (see EUROPE 12266/20). (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)