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The EU Court of Justice (CJEU) has declared the procedure for precautionary measures submitted by the defence of Catalonia's president in exile Carles Puigdemont and Toni Comínadmissible. The claim had been presented upon Tajani's decision of not considering the two pro-independence leaders as MEPs-elects. Tajani argued that the Spanish authorities did not include their names in the MEP-elect list, although the names were on Spain's Official State Gazzette MEP-elect list.

Puigdemont's lawyer, Gonzalo Boye, tweeted that the Luxembourg Court had taken only 4 hours to declare the procedure admissible. 

 

In another tweet, the lawyer spoke of the key notion of national minority: "these decisions have prevented elected and proclaimed deputies from their right to passive suffrage, which has impeded them to act as representatives of a national minority". In the same tweet,  Boye highlights that Puigdemont's defence had always pointed to Europe, and not Spain, as the place where "this game" was to be decided upon.

The Spanish Electoral Commission had not accepted to include the names of Puigdemont and Comín on the elected MEP list sent to the European Parliament, because the president in exile had not attended the swearing of the Constitution in person at the Spanish Congress -an order of arrest against Puigdemont still stands in Spain, although he is free elsewhere, and would have been detained if he attended. Similarly, Oriol Junqueras' name was not on the list -he actually had not been granted leave from his preventative prison -which has lasted 606 days today.

Tajani's refusal opened the door to Puigdemont's lawyers to appeal to Luxembourg Court.

The new legislature of the European Parliament is to be inaugurated this Tuesday in Strasbourg. The president in exile is to travel to the French town notwithstanding Tajani's decision. At this news, Partido Popular's leader, Pablo Casado, has asked PM Pedro Sánchez that another European Arrest Warrant (EAW) against the Catalan president is issued when he goes over the French border.

Several civil society entities have organised a demonstration outside the European Parliament this Tuesday.