BARCELONA - A Catalan separatist leader jailed by Spain was entitled to immunity as a member of the European Parliament, the EU’s highest court ruled on Thursday in a decision that could have political and legal repercussions in Europe and Spain.
Oriol Junqueras was jailed for 13 years in October for his role in a 2017 Catalan independence referendum that was deemed illegal by Spanish courts. He was elected an MEP while in prison awaiting the verdict, and has not been able to take up his seat.
But the EU court ruled anyone elected to the European Parliament “enjoys immunities” to travel and take part in parliamentary sessions and an MEP cannot be subject to detention or legal proceedings because of views expressed or votes cast.
The immunity does not, however, apply to an MEP who has committed an offense. The Spanish Supreme Court, which had referred the case to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), must now decide how to comply with the verdict.
The ruling could jeopardize efforts by Spain’s Socialists to court Junqueras’ Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya (ERC) party, whose support they need to form a government and break a political deadlock after two inconclusive elections this year.
ERC’s parliamentary spokesperson Marta Vilalta told reporters the party would not return to negotiations until the Socialists and Spain’s state attorney react to the verdict.
“What they do and say is very important to show that indeed they are abandoning ... the path of repression and are seriously embracing the political path,” she said.
The acting government said the state attorney would analyze the ruling and present findings in the coming days, and that it wanted “a new phase of dialogue, negotiations and agreement” on Catalonia.
The EU court did not examine Junqueras’ criminal case and sentencing. The ruling only responds to the Supreme Court’s questions on the impact of Junqueras being elected as a European lawmaker, a CJEU source said.
If Spanish authorities had wanted to prevent Junqueras from traveling to the European Parliament, they would have had to request the Parliament waive his immunity, the ruling said.
OTHER CATALAN LEADERS
Two other Catalan politicians won European Parliament seats in May but fears of returning to Spain, where they face arrest warrants, prevented them from collecting their MEP credentials.
Carles Puigdemont and Antoni Comin are both living in self-imposed exile in Belgium.
In a nod to their cases, the European Parliament’s president, David Sassoli, called on Spanish authorities to comply with what he called “a very important ruling that directly affects the composition of this institution”.
Puigdemont’s lawyer Gonzalo Boye told reporters he expected Puigdemont would soon receive his credentials. He suggested Puigdemont should be free to leave Belgium given the ruling, but recommended he avoid Spain.
Separately, a Barcelona court ruled the pro-independence leader of Catalonia’s regional government, Quim Torra, should be barred from holding public office for 18 months after he refused to remove symbols of support for jailed separatists from public buildings during April’s election campaign. Torra said he would appeal.
The ban could prompt snap elections in the region, in which Junqueras said he could stand as candidate.
