On Monday 1 July, the EU General Court rejected the request of Carles Puigdemont and Antoni Comín to order the European Parliament to take all necessary measures to enable the applicants to take their seats at the Parliament’s opening inaugural session.
According to the order of the President of the General Court (Case T-388/19 R), published the day before the first session of the new Parliament, the 1976 Decision on the Act concerning the election of representatives to the Assembly by direct universal suffrage (Decision 76/787/ECSC) specifies that the European Parliament relies exclusively on the results officially declared by the Member States and cannot call into question the very validity of the declaration made by the national authorities.
However, for the President of the General Court, contrary to what the two Catalans claim, the proclamation of 14 June published by the Spanish Central Electoral Commission cannot be considered as an official declaration of the results within the meaning of the 1976 decision, since it is subject to the filing of a petition in the event of an electoral dispute. It is therefore an important and necessary step, the General Court notes, but an intermediate and not a final one. For the General Court, it is indeed the list sent on 17 June by the Spanish Central Electoral Commission to the European Parliament that serves as the official statement of the national authorities.
In addition, the President considers that it is up to the national authorities to define the procedure for becoming a Member of the European Parliament (such as swearing allegiance to the Constitution in person) and that the European Parliament has no power - in the absence of an official declaration by the Spanish authorities - to verify the credentials of Members of the European Parliament.
CJEU. On Friday 28 June, the Catalans brought an action before the Court of Justice of the European Union, confirmed a source, against the decision of the President of the European Parliament, Antonio Tajani, to not take note of the proclamation of the results published on 14 June by the Spanish Central Electoral Commission. The Catalans are waiting for the final judgment, although it could take several months, we are told.
Demonstration. On the first day of the European Parliament's inaugural session (see other news), a demonstration was organised in the presence of the Catalan Foreign Affairs Advisor, Alfred Bosch (see EUROPE 12270/16). The latter regretted that a "bureaucratic obstacle" carries more weight than "citizens' votes".
Three fewer MEPs for Spain. On Tuesday, 2 July, the three seats of the Catalan MEPs remained vacant. There is no maximum duration set for a vacancy, as long as the national authorities have not officially designated a replacement, explains an internal source. However, Spain is depriving itself of MEPs, having only 51 instead of 54. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)