EU Parliament lifts former Catalan leader’s immunity

BRUSSELS

The European Parliament voted to lift the immunity of former Catalan leader and EU lawmaker Carles Puigdemont.

Some 400 members of the 705-strong EU body voted in favor of the immunity waiver on Monday.


As a consequence, Puigdemont, who has been elected as a member of the European Parliament in 2019, may have to face trial in Spain on charges of sedition for holding an illegal independence referendum and misuse of public funds.


The EU lawmakers also approved to strip two other Catalan politicians, Antoni Comin and Clara Ponsati, of their parliamentary immunity.


This came after members of the European Parliament’s legal affairs committee approved last month a report which concluded that the alleged events had taken place before Puigdemont and his two colleagues won their mandates, therefore their immunity could be lifted.


Following the results, Spain is expected to renew its arrest warrant to ask the extradition of the three Catalans from Belgium.


In January, a Belgian court annulled Spain’s arrest warrant and rejected an extradition request arguing that Spain’s top court had no mandate for such demands.


Puigdemont and his colleagues also vowed to appeal against the European Parliament’s decision at the European Court of Justice.​​​​​​​