Jailed Catalan independence leader's immunity hopes raised by EU court

The European Parliament should decide whether a jailed pro-independence Catalan leader elected as an MEP should qualify for immunity from criminal charges in Spain, a senior adviser to the EU’s top court said on Tuesday.

The European Court of Justice’s (ECJ) advocate general rejected Madrid’s arguments that Oriol Junqueras did not qualify as a MEP because he had not sworn an oath to the Spanish constitution.

His mandate came from the electorate and not through a procedure, the advisor said in a non binding legal opinion that could influence the final ECJ judgement. Such opinions are usually followed by EU judges in Luxembourg.

Mr Junqueras, a former vice-president of Catalonia’s regional government, was jailed for 13 years for sedition and misuse of public funds in October for his role in holding an illegal independence referendum in 2017.

Another 11 Catalan politicians and activists were also sentenced. Carles Puigdemont, the ex-president of Catalonia, fled into exile in Belgium and is currently subject to a Spanish extradition request.

Both Mr Junqueras and Mr Puigdemont were elected as MEPs in May’s European elections, which could afford them parliamentary immunity.

They have been prevented from taking up their seats in Brussels and Strasbourg by Madrid insisting they were not MEPs, which has sparked a legal battle. The Spanish Supreme Court referred the case to the ECJ for clarification on a point of EU law.

European Parliament authorities, keen to avoid being drawn into the Catalan crisis, have insisted that it is up to EU member states, in this case Spain, to decide if an MEP is a MEP.

The advocate general’s opinion said that decision should be up to the parliament rather than national authorities.

If EU judges follow his advice in their final judgment, it will set a legal precedent to be observed across the bloc and mean the parliament could have to decide on whether Mr Puigdemont and Mr Junqueras enjoy parliamentary immunity from prosecution by Spain.

“A person in Mr Junqueras Vies’ situation must be regarded as having acquired the parliamentary mandate,” the court said, “and therefore as being capable of benefiting from immunity.”

“The European Parliament should be able to decide whether it is appropriate to waive or defend the immunity of one of its members.”

French police used pepper spray and batons to push back pro-Catalan independence protesters who blocked a major highway border pass between France and Spain on Tuesday,

Several hundred protesters remain gathered around La Jonquera crossing and Catalan regional police from Spain were standing by.

The planned three-day protest started Monday. It was organised by a clandestine activist group called Tsunami Democratic, which has staged many protests, some violent, since the dozen Catalan separatist leaders were convicted last month.

Catalonia's regional parliament approved a non-binding motion expressing the will to exercise self-determination on Tuesday, defying a warning from Spain's Constitutional Court.

The motion calls for political action but has no legal effect, a parliament spokeswoman said. Catalan pro-independence parties hold a majority in the chamber.