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Political Europe may not be the lever for the rightful vindications of Catalonia but European justice has become the pole to knock down Spanish justice. We see it once and again and last Friday we had the opportunity to witness a clear example of it. Last Wednesday, Spain's Central Electoral Commission (JEC), in an autarchic gesture that bordered on the contempt for the European Court of Justice, summoned Clara Ponsatí in Madrid to collect her MEP credentials and promise or swear to abide by the Spanish Constitution. She obviously didn't have to go, nor was she going anyway. But the JEC ignored the decision of the European justice and wanted to prove that no one could amend their decisions, regardless of whether they were actually making a fool of themselves.

Forty-eight hours later, the European Parliament has announced the new MEPs after Brexit had UK parliamentarians leave their seats. Ponsatí, President Carles Puigdemont's Minister of Education, was listed along with the rest of the new MEPs. The most surprising thing is that nobody in Madrid raised their voice against the decision of the JEC even if it was only to defend that European justice had to be heeded, whether you like it or not. There were no print press editorials, there were no strong statements by the Spanish government to prevent the trampling performed by the JEC. There was silence when not a manifest support.

The other side of the coin has been suffered by the president of the pro-independence Òmnium Cultural group, Jordi Cuixart, who had requested a three-day leave having completed the corresponding part of the sentence and under grade 2 prison regime. Cuixart had a favourable report by the prisoner assessment board of Lledoners prison but the prosecutor's report states that the leave is unjustified by "his lack of assumption of criminal acts and his lack of repentance." There is no dispute about the "Ho tornarem a fer" ("We'll do it again") that Cuixart has been expressing and after which allegation before the Spanish Supreme Court he has even written a book with this title. But it would be utterly absurd to expect the opposite from someone who has not committed a crime despite being accused of it. But, as the prosecutor also states, the purpose of the leave is the preparation for life in freedom and there should be no doubt about it. It may not be the time yet to remember president Pedro Sánchez saying that the new State Attorney depended on him, suggesting that things would be different. Let them tell Cuixart!

For the last hours, I have heard respectable opinions claiming that the prosecutors' decision is well founded. I will not discuss law with professionals and will just say that, likewise, I have heard opinions clearly located in the antipodes. But you are always rightful to think that it may be late when all these interpretations, for some, and violations, for others, reach Europe - the result, however, will end up being very different. The experience of what we have been seeing shows up clearly every day. That is why Ponsatí and Cuixart are treated differently. Because Spain is not Europe.