<h6><strong>Ane Barcos</strong></h6> <h4><strong>The Advocate General of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), Maciej Szpunar, presented his opinion on Thursday on the waiver of the parliamentary immunity of MEPs Carles Puigdemont, Antoni Comín, and Clara Ponsatí, who are being prosecuted in Spain for their participation in the 2017 Catalan referendum. Szpunar recommended that the Court of Justice dismiss the appeal against the European Parliament's decision to lift their immunity in 2021.</strong></h4> The Spanish Supreme Court prosecuted the three MEPs in 2018 for crimes including rebellion and misappropriation of public funds, declaring them in absentia after they left the country. They were subsequently elected to the European Parliament in 2019. At the request of the Supreme Court, the European Parliament decided in March 2021 to waive their parliamentary immunity to allow them to be tried. The MEPs appealed the decision to the General Court of the European Union, which dismissed their claims in July 2023, and subsequently filed an appeal in cassation with the CJEU. The Advocate General proposed dismissing the MEPs' appeal, considering that Puigdemont and Ponsatí no longer had an interest in pursuing the case due to the expiration of their terms in July 2024, and therefore their appeals should be dismissed. In the case of Comín, who was reelected in June 2024, the appeal remained relevant. Szpunar indicated that the right to impartial treatment by the European Parliament was not violated, noting that the rapporteur's membership in a political group linked to VOX was not sufficient to conclude that bias had occurred. Furthermore, he noted that parliamentary immunity does not constitute an absolute right that prevents criminal proceedings, and that it could not be proven that the legal case was intended to harm the political activities of the Members. He also emphasized that the European Parliament's decisions were clear, noting that the waiver of immunity had effects in all Member States except Spain. The Court of Justice will have to decide whether to follow the Advocate General's conclusions, which will determine whether the waiver of parliamentary immunity is maintained and whether the criminal proceedings can continue in Spain.
