Brussels/Barcelon —  The European parliament has voted to waive the immunity of the former head of Catalonia’s regional government and two other separatist lawmakers, taking them a step closer to extradition to Spain, where they are charged with sedition.

The chamber announced on Tuesday that EU MEPs had voted clearly in favour of stripping the immunity from prosecution of Carles Puigdemont and two former cabinet members, Toni Comin and Clara Ponsati.

The three told a news conference at the parliament in Brussels that they would appeal against the vote at the EU’s top court, a move that could extend legal proceedings for at least a year. Ponsati said they had strong legal grounds.

“It’s a sad day for the European parliament. We have lost our immunity, but the parliament has lost even more than that, as a result it has also lost European democracy,” Puigdemont said.

Puigdemont and Comin, who are in self-imposed exile in Belgium, formally became members of the European parliament in June 2019, while Ponsati, who is in Scotland, was officially a member from January 2020.

All are subject to European arrest warrants issued by Spain which is seeking their extradition related to their role in organising a 2017 independence referendum deemed illegal by a Spanish court.

The referendum brought on Spain’s biggest political crisis in decades and was followed by a unilateral declaration of independence by the Catalan parliament in October 2017, which prompted the central government to impose direct rule from Madrid and authorities to arrest separatist leaders.

Nine of them were convicted in Spain of the same charge of sedition in 2019 and sentenced to up to 13 years in prison.

Belgium has so far denied Spain’s extradition requests. A court in January refused to extradite Lluis Puig, another separatist former member of the Catalan government living in Belgium, over charges of misuse of public funds.

Puigdemont has also been charged with misuse of public funds.

Spanish foreign minister Arancha Gonzalez Laya said the parliament’s decision was a sign of “respect for the work of the Spanish justice system”. A European legislator cannot use his position to “protect himself from appearing in a national court”, she said.

“Problems in Catalonia are solved in Spain, not in Europe,” she said, defending a solution through dialogue.

Puigdemont’s party, Junts, tweeted that the conflict had stopped being an internal affair.

“We have brought it to the heart of Europe to continue denouncing the repression and political persecution of the Spanish state,” it said.

The European parliament said the events pre-dated their election and it was for national judicial systems of EU countries to determine criminal proceedings.

Reuters

A sculpture in tribute to murdered journalists Daphne Caruana Galizia and Ján Kuciak has been placed in the European Parliament permanently.

The two metre high steel and iron sculpture has the words ‘Immortal Truth’ wrapped around it and emblazoned in lights above it. 

A phrase cut into its base says “In memory of Daphne Caruana Galizia and Ján Kuciak and all the journalists murdered for the truth.”

The journalists were both murdered outside their homes and within four months of each other. Caruana Galizia was killed in a car bomb in Bidnija, Malta in October 2017 and Kuciak in a village outside Slovakia’s capital, Bratislava.

Slovak artist Martin Mjartan created the sculpture, which is is being presented to European Parliament president David Maria Sassoli and will have a permanent place in the European Parliament building. The decision was taken this week by the College of Quaestors, of which Maltese MEP David Casa is a member.

“A few days after Daphne was murdered, the EP named its press room in Strasbourg after Daphne Caruana Galizia. Late last year, we were successful in launching the Daphne Caruana Galizia Prize for Journalism which will be awarded for the first time in October this year,” he said.

“This is a concrete example of how much the EP is on the side of truth and justice. This contrasts with the way the Maltese authorities continue to treat Daphne Caruana Galizia, even after being assassinated by individuals allegedly very close to the Prime Minister’s office,” Casa said.

There is no permanent memorial to Caruana Galizia in Malta. A temporary memorial to her, outside the Law Courts in Valletta, was repeatedly removed until Prime Minister Robert Abela came into power this year.

The Independent Power Transmission Operator announces the participation of the European Investment Bank (EIB) in the financing of Crete-Attica interconnection, a project with a total budget of 1 billion euros, being implemented by IPTO’s fully owned subsidiary “Ariadne Interconnection”.

“Ariadne Interconnection” and EIB signed a 200-million-euro loan agreement, with the option of extending the funding by 100 million euros. The funding is guaranteed by the Greek State and has a duration of 20 years, including a 5-year grace period. The possibility of EIB’s participation in the financing of the project was provided as an option in the loan agreement signed in July 2020 with Eurobank, which was activated ensuring even better financing terms.

Crete-Attica interconnection is the largest energy infrastructure project currently under construction in Greece. Its financing comes from three sources: bank lending, equity and EU funding. The equity amounts to 200 million euros. As to the bank lending, the project is now co-financed equally by Eurobank and EIB (with 200 million euros each). For the remaining amount of 400 million euros, the co-financing tools of Greece and the European Union will be deployed.

Minister of Environment and Energy, Kostas Skrekas, commented: “The electrical interconnection of Crete with the mainland is pivotal in achieving our goal to overhaul the electricity system in the next few years. Connecting the largest Greek island with the national electricity transmission network is a decisive step in this direction, as well as in the transition of the country to a low carbon footprint economy”.

Mr. Manos Manousakis, President and CEO of IPTO, pointed out: “The participation of EIB secures even better financing terms for the flagship project of Crete’s interconnection to the mainland grid, while it reaffirms the confidence of the European bank in the projects of IPTO. We are particularly satisfied with the implementation progress of the project, which brings significant economic and environmental benefits for all citizens of Greece”.

Mr. Christian Kettel Thomsen, European Investment Bank Vice President, commented: “The European Investment Bank is committed to supporting transformational energy investment across Greece. The new EIB 200 million long-term financing backs one of the longest submarine power links in the world essential to increasing transmission of green energy from Crete and increase use of clean energy in Greece.