The President of the European Parliament, David Sassoli, announced, at the opening of the plenary session in Strasbourg on Monday 13 January, the vacancy of Mr Oriol Junqueras' seat following the decision of the Electoral Commission on 3 January and that of the Spanish Supreme Court on 9 January, before confirming the full integration of Mr Toni Comín and Mr Carles Puigdemont as Members of the European Parliament.
"Following the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union of 19 December 2019, the European Parliament takes note of the election as Members of the European Parliament of Messrs. Junqueras i Vies, Puigdemont i Casamajó, and Comin i Oliveres on 2 July 2019", announced the President, before continuing: "taking into account the decision of the Electoral Commission of 3 January 2020 (see EUROPE 12348/23) and following and following the decision of the Supreme Court of 9 January 2020 (see EUROPE 12400/4), Parliament established the vacancy of Mr Junqueras' seat in effect from 3 January 2020".
The announcement was not followed by any debate, despite the protest of some MEPs, including Greens/EFA Co-President Ska Keller from Germany, but also by Mr Puigdemont and Mr Comín, who were holding up a "Free Junqueras" sign in the Chamber.
The two Catalans currently sit with the Non-attached Members, concluded the Parliament President, but are expected to join the ranks of the Greens/EFA group.
Ahead of the plenary session, the European Parliament confirmed to journalists that the Presidency's services had received a request for the waiver of immunity for Mr Comín and Mr Puigdemont at the request of Spanish magistrate Pablo Llarena (see EUROPE 12401/25).
Counterattack
On the same day, the former President of Catalonia, Mr Puigdemont, denounced Spain's position at a press briefing. He recalled that "the Catalan crisis (had) a direct impact on the foundations of the European Union" and that, therefore, the EU had to address the issue.
"[Mr Sassoli] must review his decision and ask for his release and, if necessary, it is up to our Assembly to take a decision on whether or not to waive Junqueras' parliamentary immunity", said Diana Riba (Greens/EFA, Spain) at a press conference on the margins of the plenary session late Monday 13 January. "We will refer the matter to the Legal Affairs Committee, which can look into Sassoli's decision and decide on any appeals", the MEP continued before announcing that an appeal to the Court of Justice of the EU against Sassoli's decision would be launched.
Mr Junqueras, who remained in Spain, was sentenced in October by the Spanish courts to 13 years' imprisonment for acts of sedition and embezzlement (see EUROPE 12348/23). (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens and Sophie Petitjean)