EU court ruling on Catalan leaders is a 'win for democracy'

The decision by the European Court of Justice (ECJ), the bloc’s top court, was also applied to former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont and Toni Comin, one of his ex-ministers, who have been in self-imposed exile in Belgium since they fled in October 2017, as their political colleagues were arrested over the poll earlier that month.

READ MORE: European court to rule on Catalan leader Oriol Junqueras

That indyref and a subsequent declaration of intent by the Catalan Parliament to proclaim its independence resulted in Spain imposing direct rule on the prosperous, north-eastern enclave, sacking its Cabinet and arresting those politicians and civic leaders who were involved with the independence campaign.

Fast-forward two years and things may have changed in Spain and Catalonia, but the ECJ ruling and the granting of interim MEP status to Puigdemont and Comin, have pitted the two against each other as resolutely as ever.

Toni Comin (left) and Carles Puigdemont

The pair went into the European Parliament in Brussels on Friday – a largely symbolic appearance because other MEPs had all gone home – to see their new place of work, pick up some form of credentials and score some political points.

Although they were in exile, the duo, along with Junqueras, had quite emphatic successes in May’s European elections, but were effectively barred from taking up their seats because Spain required them to swear an oath to the constitution, and that had to be done in Madrid.

Both faced arrest if they tried to enter Spain and appealed to the EU’s General Court to overturn the Spanish decision.

The court rejected their request, finding that because their names were not included on the official list of MEPs sent to the EU assembly, “the applicants were not officially declared as elected”.

However, the ECJ on Friday annulled that decision and referred the matter back to the lower court “to be re-examined”.

READ MORE: Carles Puigdemont and Toni Comin given temporary passes as Catalan MEPs

Sergi Marcen, from the Catalan delegation to the UK in London, exclusively told The Sunday National that democracy had won.

“We can already speak of the Junqueras doctrine: the immunity of a MEP is proclaimed at the time of their election because the composition of the European Parliament is democratically decided by European citizenship,” he said.

“The Spanish Supreme Court must guarantee European regulations. Also, the president of the European Parliament, David Sassoli, has urged the Spanish state to comply with the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union.

“It would be unthinkable that Spain did not.

“And, as we have seen in the sentence, even though Oriol Junqueras had immunity from the outset, his rights were violated, which is why we demand his immediate release.”

The EU court ruled Oriol Junqueras had parliamentary immunity

Marcen said the “most Francoist face of Spain” had been exposed throughout the Catalan process – the referendum and subsequent trial.

“I hope that many people in Europe see that the rights of Catalans have been violated, and that Spanish justice have used, and are using, Spanish laws to go against independentist people.”

While Puigdemont and Comin are not expected to return to the European Parliament until next month, Junqueras remains in a state of limbo in Lledoners prison outside Barcelona.

Shortly before the European elections, and while in jail, he was nominated as the first “spitzenkandidat”, or lead candidate, in the history of the European Free Alliance (EFA) after winning support from its 45 member parties.

However, his incarceration pre- and post-trial have prevented him from taking his seat in Brussels or Strasbourg.

READ MORE: Clara Ponsati supporters prepare for December 12 court date

The fallout from the ECJ ruling could also impact Professor Clara Ponsati, the University of St Andrews academic and former Catalan education minister who is fighting a European arrest warrant in Scotland.

She occupies third place on the proportional representation “list” of Spanish MEPs and once Britain leaves the EU she can expect to step in to one of the extra seats Spain will be given.

However, her lawyer Aamer Anwar said the issue for Spain was “whether it practises the rule of law or wants to act as a petulant rogue state within the heart of Europe”.

The ECJ ruling certainly does not shed much clarity on what will happen next.

Clara Ponsati is fighting a European Arrest Warrant

SPAIN’S Supreme Court said it would study “in depth” the contents of the ruling, but that could take some time. Junqueras himself appeared relaxed in his first interview from prison since the ruling with public broadcaster Catalonia Radio, saying he did not know what would transpire from it, by what route or how long it would take.

“We are accustomed to the fact that the Supreme Court does not do things in accordance with the law,” he said.

“This ruling helps to show the extent to which the apparatus of Spain forces the interpretation of the laws to favour their causes.

‘‘And this … like others, shows that we have accumulated reasons in our favour.”

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Junqueras said he had won and would gain his freedom and “the recognition that our judicial process is completely tarnished. From the beginning”.

Asked if the ECJ ruling could invalidate that of Spain’s Supreme Court, which jailed him, Junqueras added: “This judgment was made unfairly, without respecting my rights, and the sentence should not exist.”

The party Junqueras led, the Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC) has been involved in negotiations with Spain’s caretaker prime minister Pedro Sanchez, to abstain from a vote in Congress and allow him to be invested as PM.

They have also called for the immediate release of Junqueras and will refuse to enter further talks as long as Sanchez’s socialist party (PSOE), does not accept his immunity.

Marta Vilalta, a member of ERC’s negotiating team, said democracy had won, “because what the EU Court of Justice has said is that the rights of Oriol Junqueras have been violated”, along with those of voters who wanted independence-supporting MEPs.

She urged the Spanish government to comply with the ECJ order.