Criticisms in German media of the position taken by the European Parliament in the immunity request against Catalan MEPs Carles Puigdemont, Toni Comín and Clara Ponsatí have now extended to Belgium. The main Belgian financial daily in Flemish, De Tijd, has published an article by one of its leading journalists, Jean Vanempten, who notes that after what has happened, the Catalan conflict "is no longer a Spanish question but rather a question of democratic standards in Europe and Spain". And he added that if these events were unfolding in Russia, "Europe would be indignant."
"You don't have to support independence to defend the immunity of the three Catalan MEPs. If they are extradited to Spain, they will be arrested immediately and stripped of their political rights. Any trial which they are given will have a political motivation. Even if only because the court that tries them will be full of judges who have been politically appointed by the main Spanish parties," he says.
According to Tijd, if what is happening with the 3 MEPs and the Catalan political prisoners had been set in Russia, "Europe would be indignant," it asserts. "Now they look at it cautiously and say it's a Spanish issue." "But it is not a Spanish issue, but it is about the level of democracy in Europe and Spain," says the report. It suggests that Europe lacks the "courage" to assume this reality.
The newspaper recalls that three major political families - the centre-right, the centre-left and the liberals - were the ones who voted in favour of stripping the immunity from the MEPs. "Not only because they have good relations with the Spanish political regime, but also because the EU states are suspicious of any pro-independence aspiration," adds Vanempten.
The fate of the Catalans
Tijd considers it very likely that Belgian justice will once again have to rule on the extradition requests from Spain, but believes that it will do the job better than the European Parliament. "There is a high possibility that a Belgian judge will have to rule again on the case. And it is fortunate for the fate of the Catalans that Belgian judges appear to have fewer difficulties than MEPs do in examining a case objectively," says the Flemish newspaper.
The decision of the European Parliament to lift the immunity of exiled former Catalan president and his ex-ministers, by a narrower majority than expected, yesterday prompted reactions of great concern in the German press, because it signifies an escalation of the Catalan conflict to European level. Munich's Süddeutsche newspaper, one of the country's major dailies, criticized the decision of the European Parliament and warned that the European chamber "has now involuntarily become part of the conflict" between Catalonia and Spain.
"The European Parliament tried to be like Pontious Pilate, and wash their hands. The European chamber wanted to stay on the margins of the conflict, but it has ended up in the middle. This Tuesday the result of the ballot was announced under which three Catalan politicians will be stripped of their parliamentary immunity, including former president of Catalonia, Carles Puigdemont. They are now faced with an extradition request from Spain, where they would be tried for sedition and misuse of funds," wrote the German newspaper's correspondent, Karin Janker.