The endorsement of the amnesty law by the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) has been celebrated as a “resounding victory” by Carles Puigdemont, after analyzing the ruling together with the rest of the Junts leadership, who concluded that “Europe is saying that he should already be home.”
In this regard, the secretary general of the pro-independence party, Jordi Turull, has urged the Constitutional Court (TC) to “decide now” on the amnesty to pave the way for the return of its leader, who fled abroad nine years ago after unilaterally proclaiming Catalonia’s independence.
“Today there are no excuses not to effectively apply the amnesty law. The TC cannot go on vacation while it knows there are people deprived of rights and judges who are acting unlawfully because they are not applying a law that Europe has said is very clear and legitimate,” added the number two of Junts.
Turull also warned that the possible application of the amnesty to Puigdemont does not mean that the independence movement considers the “political conflict with Spain” resolved. “We do not give up anything. Neither making effective the right to self-determination of Catalonia nor unilateralism. If anyone thinks the conflict is over, they are very mistaken,” warned the secretary general of the neo-convergents, who considered the European ruling “a boost” for Catalan secessionism. Puigdemont himself defended that now is the time to “regain strength and resources to focus on the main goal of independence.”
Likewise, Puigdemont’s right-hand man warned the government led by Pedro Sánchez that the CJEU ruling “does not allow rebuilding the relationship with someone you do not trust.” And he ruled out restoring his alliance with the socialists “as long as they do not fulfill what they must.”
Alongside Turull, Puigdemont’s lawyer, Gonzalo Boye, also spoke, urging the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court (TS) to “hurry up” because “Europe has already made things clear and they are already late in resolving this.”
Boye asks the Supreme Court to act ex officio
Boye argued that, “from today, the Supreme Court is in a position to act ex officio without waiting for the Constitutional Court” and ruled out the need to pressure them judicially: “With a ruling like this, appeals are unnecessary. It is a resounding endorsement of the amnesty law. From a legal point of view, there is no longer any debate.”
Junqueras: “I hope to embrace Puigdemont soon”
The leader of ERC, Oriol Junqueras, has also called for the “immediate” application of the amnesty law and considered that “there are no more excuses,” after the endorsement of the European Union Court of Justice to the law, urging the Spanish State to “definitively close this chapter.” “Political rights cannot depend on the will of a part of the judiciary serving certain partisan interests,” he argued.
Junqueras is disqualified until 2031 for the crime of embezzlement for which he was convicted, which, for now, prevents him from being his party’s candidate for the 2028 regional elections, as he intends. Hence, he has considered it “urgent that, after almost ten years, the Spanish State definitively closes this chapter”: “We do not want to be trapped in the past, we do not want to live permanently talking about repression.”
“I hope to be able to embrace President Puigdemont soon and that all exiles can return home,” wished the republican, who, like Puigdemont, has maintained that the European ruling “does not close the political conflict, but confirms the political conflict.” “Today nothing ends, today a new stage begins,” he asserted.
