The former president of the Generalitat, Carles Puigdemont, confirmed this Monday morning through a tweet that he would not attend the plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg. As he himself explains, he hoped that the European chamber would guarantee that he would not be arrested when he traveled to France, something that they have not confirmed, he added. In this way, the expresident has communicated that neither he nor Toni Comín would attend the plenary session “against their intention and his duty”.
Puigdemont’s confirmation comes after last week the General Court of the European Union lifted his immunity and reopened the door to his extradition to Spain. In this way, the Court dismissed the appeal filed by the former president, Toni Comín and Clara Ponsantí against the decisions of the European Parliament to suspend his immunity. A sentence that Puigdemont assured was not expected even though he announced that he was going to appeal to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU).
Puigdemont has insisted in his tweet that the ruling of the General Court of the European Union was “ambiguous” on the issue of his immunity from displacement. In an attempt to find more certainty and guarantees in the European Parliament, the former president regrets that what they have received is “more ambiguity”, and provides the response received: “All available measures will be taken to defend any of the immunities to which may be entitled at that time.”
Carles Puigdemont thus confirms that he wants to avoid “an arrest like the one in Alghero, which, unlike then, could mean transferring the extradition process to France.” In September 2021, the former president was arrested in Sardinia as a result of the Eurowarrant issued against him, although he was not ultimately extradited to Spain.
Despite reporting his absence for the next plenary session, the Catalan MEP assures that “they will continue to ask for a clear answer on this issue.” And he adds that they will do so “not because of any personal affectation that he may have”, but “because it affects a fundamental right that no Parliament in the democratic world would have to discuss”.
The TGUE decision, in principle, opens the door for Llarena to reactivate the Euro-orders -now they are only active in Spanish national territory- and once again request the European judicial authorities to arrest him and hand him over to Spain. But for this to happen, the investigating judge of 1-O must issue new arrest and surrender orders against the defendants taking into account the latest reform of the Penal Code. In the case of Puigdemont, the crimes of which he is accused are disobedience and aggravated embezzlement.
However, Puigdemont is expected to take the next step. The ruling of the General Court of the European Union was a setback for the Catalan MEP and for his attempt to defeat the Spanish justice system. The former president strongly disagreed with the TGUE’s decision, although he assured that he would not give up. “Nothing ends, on the contrary, everything continues. We will present a memory to the CJEU and we will defend our fundamental rights to the end,” said Puigdemont, who said he would continue working “in the same spirit” as on the first day “to win freedom.”
Within a period of two months and seven days, the former president’s defense can appeal to the CJEU and request precautionary measures to preserve immunity. “This is not the first time, in the TGUE we have always had to go back and seek a response from the CJUE to our demands,” said the pro-independence leader. In May 2022, it was the Court of Justice of the European Union that provisionally restored the former Catalan president’s immunity, after the General Court of the European Union had denied it.
