Spain and its unionist parties held all the winning cards. Catalan pro-independence supporters saw that only a "miracle" would enable the rejection of the immunity request on Carles Puigdemont, Toni Comín and Clara Ponsatí. However, the European Parliament's vote today to waive the immunity of the three exiled Catalan MEPs has also revealed the extent to which their campaign to expose the Spanish state's political repression of the independence movement has managed to penetrate the so-called Brussels bubble. Despite the heavy weighting of Spain's PP, PSOE and Cs in the three main party groupings in the European Parliament, and despite the pressure from Spain, support for the Spanish court's request did not reach 60% of the vote.
Ironically, while MEPs from the Spanish Socialists, PP and Cs celebrated the lifting of their Catalan colleagues' immunity from prosecution, it was only far-right Vox who pointed out the scale of the 'no' vote, at 248 votes or around 42% of the chamber. "We cannot be euphoric," said Vox.
The vote, which was held yesterday and made public this morning, recorded, in the case of Puigdemont, 400 votes in favour, 248 against and 45 abstentions, while the immunity waivers on Comín and Ponsatí received 404 votes in favour, 247 against and 42 abstentions. Of the 705 members of the European Parliament, 693 voted. Four parliamentarians who did not vote on these three requests for waivers did so on the other issues submitted to the vote.
Political victory
According to the Junts (Together for Catalonia) political party, this particular report on the request to lift the immunity of the three Catalan MEPs may be the immunity case which has been passed with the least support ever by the European chamber.
The deep split in the views of MEPs was reflected in the contrast with two other immunity requests that were also voted on yesterday by the plenary. These were approved with 94.4 and 94.9 percent, respectively, of votes. In fact, such high majority votes are the usual situation in reports in favour of lifting parliamentary immunity that reach the plenary.
Toni Comin: "This could be the immunity request with most votes against it in the history of the European Parliament... 80 MEPs broke the discipline of their group to vote against it."
The three Junts MEPs underscored this data during a press conference this afternoon at the European Parliament in which they argued that the result could even be considered a "political victory". They pointed to the figure of 80 MEPs from the Socialist, EPP, Liberal and Conservative groups who broke with voting discipline to record their opposition to the motion. As well, there was probably also a "no" majority among left wing MEPs in the house.
Pro-independence campaign
In fact, one aspect that both the Spanish pro-union MEPs and those of Junts agreed on is the effectiveness of the campaign carried out by pro-independence groups in changing views among members of the European Parliament. Puigdemont, who the week before the vote had carried out a battery of interviews across Europe, expressed gratitude in the press conference for the work of his team, who had fewer resources at their disposal than their rivals.
On the other hand, the PSOE, PP and Cs referred to this battle for the narrative in terms of having to fight against the pressure applied by the pro-independence parties- "pressures, lies and intoxications of the fugitive MEPs and their circles", according to the Cs press release - while Spain's ultra party Vox blamed these three parties for the 248 votes against the petition.
In any case, as Comín asserted, this procedure has meant that today the Catalan independence process is much more widely known among his European colleagues than before the debate on the immunity request.
Reactions from MEPs
This effect has become evident with the statements and comments made in recent days about the vote on social media as many MEPs, especially from the Left and Green groups - but also some from the Socialist ranks - have taken a stand against lifting the immunity of the three exiled Catalans.
Indeed, while the Spanish deputies from the PSOE, PP and Cs congratulated themselves in successive press conferences for the result achieved in Brussels, many MEPs from around Europe took to Twitter to expressed their displeasure with the decision taken in the house.
French MEP Manon Aubry (la France Insoumise) tweeted this morning:
Translation:
"Catalan MEPs' immunity lifted: the European Parliament gives carte blanche to the criminalization of political opponents. My statement of reaction to the lifting of the immunity of Carles #Puigdemont, @ClaraPonsati and @toni_comin, prosecuted for having brought democracy to life."—Manon Aubry
Said Aubry in the tweeted statement: "The European Parliament is shaming itself by handing over its MEPs to legal proceedings initiated by an extreme right-wing party and carried out by a court whose jurisdiction is widely contested. The three elected members could face 13 years imprisonment, for arrests that have judged as arbitrary by the UN, Amnesty International, and the FIDH."
The French MEP condemned today's vote as "a major political failure". She said that the decision shows "the democratic inconsistency of the European Parliament and sets a serious precedent for democracy and the rule of law within EU member states."
Denmark's Nikolaj Villumsen (Enhedslisten) wrote:
Anne Sophie Pelletier, (la France Insoumise), wrote:
Translation:
"The vote of shame! The European Parliament voted to lift the immunity of our Catalan colleagues. It is a dark day for European democracy."— Anne Sophie Pelletier
The Czech Republic's Kateřina Konečná (Communists of Bohemia & Moravia), tweeted:
In any case, the procedural journey of the request for immunity does not end here, as Junts has announced that it is to file, before the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg, a complaint against the irregularities registered during the proceedings. There, they will encounter the preliminary questions raised by the investigating judge, Pablo Llarena, following the decision of the Belgian judiciary to reject the European Arrest Warrant against Lluís Puig. If the Spanish judge fails to deactivate that Belgian ruling in Luxembourg, the European Arrest Warrants for the three Catalan MEPs seem bound to hit the same wall at the Brussels court.
In the main image, Carles Puigdemont during the press conference this afternoon at the European Parliament / Efe