EFA President denounces political motivation on banning Junqueras from European Parliament

López de Lacalle says it would be undemocratic to constitute the assembly without an elected member

The President of the European Free Alliance, Lorena López de Lacalle, has criticized the decision of the Supreme Court in Spain to bar Oriol Junqueras from taking up seat as a member of the European Parliament, and denounced that the judges have partly issued a political reasoning instead of juridical.

In this sense, López de Lacalle has rejected as a legal argument that allowing Junqueras to travel to Brussels would imply an “irreversible danger” to the legal process related to the fact that Carles Puigdemont has moved there “the seat of the Catalan government in exile”, as the court says, and has pointed out that it is incorrect that the constitutive session will take place in Brussels but in Strasbourg.

She has also accused the court’s decision of clearly violating the right to political participation of EFA Spitzenkandidat for the European elections Oriol Junqueras, who was elected MEP as the leading candidate of EFA member parties Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya, Eusko Alkartasuna and BNG.

The convening of the Parliament would be undemocratic if it takes place with the absence of elected members like Junqueras and “nothing happens”, EFA President has said, who has remarked that even the State attorney does not agree with the decision.

For this reason, both EFA party and EFA group in the European Parliament will pressure at different levels in the coming days so that the constitution of the assembly on 2July is done in democratic terms, and not undermining the political rights of elected members. López de Lacalle has also asked for the same legal procedures to become an MEP in all member states.

As an elected member of the European Parliament and candidate to the presidency of the European Commission, both institutions “should speak out on the situation Junqueras is facing”. “We are talking about rights and democracy, which can never imply a criminal offence”, EFA President has concluded.