Spain applauds as EU lawmakers lift immunity of 3 Catalan officials

BRUSSELS — The European Parliament on Tuesday lifted the immunity of the former president of Spain’s Catalonia region, Carles Puigdemont, and two of his associates, a move that could pave the way for their extradition and reopen the scars of separatism in Spain.

The Spanish government immediately welcome the decision by the European Union’s legislature as a victory for the rule of law and against those who sought to break the rich northeastern region away from the rest of Spain.

The decision will likely also extend the 3 ½ -year legal saga on the fate of the three separatists by months, if not years, since many avenues for appeal remain open before any possible extraditions.

“We have lost our immunity, but the European Parliament has lost more than that. And as a result, European democracy, too,”

Puigdemont said afterward. “This is a clear case of political persecution.”

He said that “the European Parliament has unfortunately fallen into this strategy.” Puigdemont and a number of his separatist colleagues fled to Belgium in October 2017, fearing arrest after holding an independence referendum for Catalonia that the Spanish courts and government said was illegal.

In 2019, Puigdemont and his two associates — former Catalan Health Minister Toni Comin and former regional Education Minister Clara Ponsati — won seats in the European Parliament and were afforded protection as members of the EU assembly.

Ponsati said the three will appeal the assembly’s decision to the EU’S higher courts in Luxembourg.

“We are very convinced that we have very strong grounds for this appeal,” she said.

“The conflicts of interest that interfere in the process were outrageous,” she said.

Spanish Foreign Minister Arancha Gonzalez Laya said the assembly’s decision showed that Puigdemont and his two aides can’t hide behind their legislative seats to avoid appearing before the justice system. In a video statement, Gonzalez Laya also said the decision meant that “the problems of Catalonia are solved in Spain, they are not solved in Europe.”

The 2017 independence vote in favor of Catalonia breaking away from Spain was a landslide, but those in favor of Spanish unity spurned the vote. The central government in Madrid declared the vote illegal and unconstitutional. Hundreds of people in Catalonia were injured in a police crackdown on the day of the poll.

Spain has attempted to have Puigdemont returned for trial but failed to persuade Belgian justice authorities to extradite him. Spain could well start new efforts now to have him extradited.