Catalonia’s ex-president Carles Puigdemont and former minister Toni Comín, both exiled in Belgium, have decided not to go to Strasbourg for this week’s plenary session of the European Parliament, after losing their parliamentary immunity last week.
Puigdemont announced the decision on Twitter on Monday.
The two MEPs, whom Madrid blames for Catalonia’s 2017 referendum on self-determination, fear they will be arrested by the French authorities if the Spanish justice system decides to reactivate the arrest warrants against them.
They have been prosecuted for aggravated embezzlement – an offence punishable by 12 years in prison – and for disobedience, while their Catalan ex-minister colleague Clara Ponsatí, also exiled in Belgium, is being prosecuted solely for the latter offence.
Ms. Ponsatí told Spanish new agency EFE that she would indeed be present in Strasbourg this week, because, although the EU General Court also stripped her of her parliamentary immunity last week, she was only prosecuted in Spain for disobedience, which does not carry a prison sentence. This means the public prosecutor’s office cannot issue a new European arrest warrant for her.
Mr Puigdemont and Mr Comín say they have not received a sufficiently clear answer to their questions from the European Parliament to allay their fears of being arrested in France.
Asked about this, a spokesman for the European Parliament explained that President Roberta Metsola had sent her reply on Friday evening and that it said two things: the European Parliament is not aware of any arrest warrants in force against the individuals concerned, and were it to be faced with such a case, it would defend the immunities it considered to be in force at the time.
