The EU Court of Justice has dismissed an appeal from Catalan separatist leaders Carles Puigdemont and Toni Comin, who sought recognition as European Parliament members after being denied in June 2019, according to a court statement on Thursday.
Despite being elected in the 2019 European Parliament elections, their status was not recognized due to their refusal to take an oath respecting the Spanish constitution, a procedure typically done in person in Madrid, as required for newly-elected MEPs before taking up their seats.
The ruling affirmed a previous decision by the EU's General Court, which waived the immunity that Puigdemont and Comin would have held as MEPs. "The General Court rightly determined that the President of the European Parliament could not deviate from the list of elected Members officially communicated to him by the Spanish authorities," the Court of Justice stated in its judgment.
Jordi Turull, secretary-general of Puigdemont's and Comin's party Junts, which advocates for Catalonia's independence from Spain, said on X: "We will continue to fight and persist on every front to ensure that the voice and vote of the ballot boxes are heard."
Puigdemont fled Spain in 2017 to evade prosecution following a brief declaration of independence for Catalonia, which led Madrid to assume direct control of the region. Comin was re-elected to the European Parliament in this year's elections in June and again declined to take the constitutional oath in Madrid.
Both separatist leaders are living in self-imposed exile. The ruling could pave the way for their eventual extradition to Spain. In July, Spain's Supreme Court upheld arrest warrants for Puigdemont, Comin, and others charged with embezzlement over the region's failed secession attempt, ruling that a recent amnesty law does not apply to them.
