The new president of the European Parliament, David Sassoli, has urged Spain to comply with the Court of Justice of the European Union's sentence in the case of Oriol Junqueras, finding he did become an MEP automatically and so enjoyed the concomitant immunity.
"I call on the competent Spanish authorities to encourage them to conform to the contents of the sentence. And I have ordered the Parliament's services to evaluate in the shortest time possible the application of the effects of the sentence on the composition of our Parliament," Sassoli said in a speech to the chamber.
The ECJ found that a person elected acquires the status of member of the @Europarl_EN and therefore enjoys immunity. I call upon the competent Spanish authorities to align with the ruling. I have given a mandate to the services to evaluate its possible impact on the composition. pic.twitter.com/CPK7wTCdAk
— David Sassoli (@EP_President) December 19, 2019
The president had avoided commenting on the case to the press as he arrived at the Parliament. He also summarised the judges' findings, highlighting that "the condition of MEP is considered to be acquired from the moment of one's proclamation as such on the part of the national authorities" and that a court must either allow the person to attend the Parliament or request the Parliament suspend their immunity.
Sassoli didn't allow any of the Parliament's groups to make their own statements on the case, as Ska Keller, co-president of Greens/EFA had planned.