On Tuesday 23 February, the European Parliament's Legal Affairs Committee approved (15 votes in favour, 8 against and 2 abstentions) the lifting of the immunities of three Catalan pro-independence politicians, Carles Puigdemont, Toni Comín and Clara Ponsatí, accused of sedition in Spain.
“Today we have taken an important step in the process of lifting the parliamentary immunities of MEPs Puigdemont, Comín and Ponsatí. We have kept our word: to implement an exemplary process. When the rules are respected, democracy can triumph”, said Adrián Vázquez Lázara (Renew Europe, Spanish), chair of the Legal Affairs Committee.
On behalf of the GUE/NGL Group, the Frenchwoman Manon Aubry denounced “a serious precedent” through which “the European Parliament is proposing to hand over its Members to the political prosecution of a Member State”.
The procedure will be submitted to the plenary session of the EP at the beginning of March.
The Spanish request for the waiver of the immunity of the three MEPs was submitted in January 2020 (EUROPE 12403/27). (Mathieu Bion)