european commission and parliament

Commission against including "crimes against the constitutional integrity" in list of reasons for automatic extradition

European Commission and Parliament say sculpture presented to French journalist includes 'political message'

Catalan MEP calls on European institutions to re-investigate the case following Spanish court ruling

Two Catalan researchers, Gemma Galdon and Isabel Trillas were amongst the finalists at EU Prize for Women Innovators 2017, an initiative promoted by the European Commission's Directorate General for Research and Innovation together with the European Parliament's Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality. Galdon is a policy analyst working on the social, ethical and legal impacts of data-intensive technologies while Trillas is full Professor at the Faculty of Biology at Universitat de Barcelona and developed a pesticide based on a natural microorganism to control crop diseases. The ceremony, held on Women’s International Day at the European Parliament, awarded four European researchers for their outstanding contribution. They were Michela Magas, Petra Wadström, Claudia Gärtner and Kristina Tsvetanova.

The European Commission’s President, Jean-Claude Juncker, urged Spain to form a “stable government” and do it “as quick as possible, as it belongs to the Eurozone”. Juncker refused to “give an opinion on the movements in some regions and provinces”, referring to Catalonia’s push for independence, but called for “Spain to rise to” the circumstances. In a similar vein, the Euro Parliament’s President, Martin Schulz, assured that the Catalan case would have to be “dealt with within the framework of the Constitution”. The Vice President of Flemish Nationalist party N-VA, Sander Loones, commented that the EC “missed a great opportunity” by not taking up a role as mediator and noted that “saying that it is a Spanish issue only is a way of making sure that nothing will move”.

MEPs from eight different parties asked the European Commission to urge Spain to investigate and judge the crimes committed during Franco’s dictatorship. “Justice doesn’t expire. We don’t aim for vengeance but reparation”stated Catalan left-wing ERC-NeCAT MEP Ernest Maragall on Tuesday at a joint press conference in Strasbourg. Maragall was joined by Catalan MEPs from ERC-NeCAT, liberal party CDC, left-wing ICV and christian democrat UDC, as well as MEPs from Basque nationalist PNB and Bildu and alternative left-wing Spanish parties Compromís and Podemos. They wrote a joint declaration which stated that “the principle of universal justice makes impossible the impunity of the crimes”committed during Francoism and “forces the State to judge those who were responsible”. “This is not about opening wounds but to close them”stated PodemosMEP Miguel Urbán.

In Spain as a whole, turnout for the European parliamentary elections increased slightly, while it increased considerably in a Catalonia in the midst of the independence debate. In 2009 only 36.94% of those Catalans on the voting register voted in the European elections, the lowest turnout ever recorded in any election during the 37 years of democracy. Now, some 47.4% of Catalans have cast their vote, an increase of more than 10 percentage points. In the whole of Spain, turnout increased by only one percentage point when compared to the 44.5% turnout from 2009, reaching 45.6%, sustained by the high increase in Catalonia. In fact, in the rest of Spain, turnout decreased in almost all regions, with only a few exceptions. Turnout also stagnated at EU level, going from 43% in 2009 to 43.1% in the newest elections. Parties and civil society organisations supporting self-determination asked Catalan citizens to vote in these elections in order to send a message to the world: Catalans want to hold an independence vote and to remain within the EU.

They say that European legislation foresees the cancellation of the voting rights of an EU Member State if there is “a clear risk of serious […] and persistent breach” of the common values. The four MEPs denounce “the military threats” and “the tone used by the People’s Party and the Spanish Government”. They have sent a formal letter to the European Commissioner for Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship, Viviane Reding. They ask the EU to be vigilant and “to evaluate the real risks of a potential military intervention” by Spanish forces against Catalonia. If such a risk existed, the EU should suspend Spain’s voting rights in the European Council.