European Parliament Strips Immunity from Former Catalonia President Carles Puigdemont and Others

Three Leading Separatist Politicians
Spain Likely to Execute Arrest Warrants
Focus on Belgium Government's Position as Asylum Destination

Former Catalonia President Carles Puigdemont
[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Suhwan] The European Parliament has abruptly stripped the parliamentary immunity of Catalan politicians demanding the independence of Catalonia in Spain. Those whose privileges have been revoked immediately announced plans to appeal, raising expectations that conflicts between the Spanish government and Catalan independence forces will intensify.

According to The Guardian on the 9th (local time), the European Parliament decided through a vote by its members to revoke the parliamentary immunity of three Catalan politicians, including former Catalan President Carles Puigdemont. This also means that their immunity from arrest has been removed. Those targeted for the revocation of privileges include Antoni Com?n, who served as Minister of Health during the Puigdemont administration, and Clara Ponsat?, who was Minister of Education.

The Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomed the European Parliament's decision, stating, "This is a day that shows no politician can use their privileges to evade the legitimate law enforcement of their own country," and added, "The Catalonia issue must be resolved by us Spaniards ourselves."

Former President Puigdemont described the European Parliament's decision as "a day when European democracy was destroyed," and said, "We will never give up." He also added that he plans to immediately appeal to the European Court of Justice.

Puigdemont was previously prosecuted by the Spanish prosecution on charges of rebellion after pushing for an independence referendum in Catalonia in 2017, which provoked opposition from the Spanish government. He then fled to Belgium to avoid arrest by Spanish authorities and was elected to the European Parliament while in Belgium, thereby gaining immunity from arrest.

The Spanish government has continuously attempted to execute an arrest warrant for former President Puigdemont, but the Belgian government has refused. However, with the European Parliament's decision on this day, the authority to arrest Puigdemont has been restored.

Nonetheless, since the Belgian government must approve the arrest for it to actually take place, there are expectations that executing the arrest warrant will not be easy. The Guardian reported, "In Belgium, which does not recognize the arrest of political prisoners, it is highly likely that former President Puigdemont, involved in political crimes, will not be extradited to Spain."

After the Catalan independence referendum held in October 2017 was passed, the Catalan regional government declared independence. However, the Spanish government immediately nullified it, dissolved the Catalan regional parliament, and took a hardline approach including arresting the leadership, escalating the conflict between the two sides to a peak.

Subsequently, in 2019, the Spanish court sentenced nine senior Catalan officials, including Oriol Junqueras, Vice President of Catalonia, to up to 13 years in prison.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.