The former president of Catalonia, Carles Puigdemont, is campaigning for a seat in the European Parliament. And the polls indicate that he could get it. But the problem is whether he can legally occupy it.
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The former president of Catalonia, Carles Puigdemont, is campaigning for a seat in the European Parliament and the polls indicate that he could get it.
But the problem is whether he can legally occupy it... he and his lawyers are convinced he can.
There is one key difficulty: the legal services of the European Parliament indicate that he must collect his minutes in Madrid, as corroborated by this lawyer.
"In the case of Puigdemont, he has to go to Madrid and swear to the Spanish Constitution before the Central Electoral Board, otherwise he will not be an MEP," said lawyer Ignasi Guardans.
And in that case he could be arrested, so would he receive immunity?
"There is no immunity until the status of elected deputy is acquired and that is acquired after swearing the Constitution in person in Madrid," explained Guardans.
The Catalan independence leader fled to Belgium. Despite this, the Spanish court has allowed him to participate in the elections.
The next question, if he reaches the European Parliament, it is not clear in which group he could join. The Liberals expelled him, officially for the cases of corruption in which his political party had been implicated.