Junqueras sees the path cleared for amnesty after the CJEU's endorsement: "There are no more excuses"

The endorsement by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) of the amnesty law has been received by the independence movement as a boost to the norm promoted by the Government. The Grand Chamber in Luxembourg concluded this Thursday that the law is compatible with Union Law, understanding that it does not violate the principles of equality, does not affect European financial interests, nor does it conflict with community regulations on terrorism. Furthermore, it has considered legitimate the objective of contributing to political and social normalization in Catalonia, while rejecting the preliminary questions raised by the Court of Accounts and the National High Court.

After the resolution was known, the president of ERC, Oriol Junqueras, demanded that the amnesty be applied effectively and maintained that the European pronouncement eliminates the arguments used until now to delay its execution. The republican leader assured that, after the Luxembourg ruling, "there are no more excuses" to prevent the application of the norm.

Luxembourg endorses the core of the law

The CJEU ruling supports the central elements of the amnesty. The European court makes it clear that the eventual extinction of liability for expenses linked to the 1-O referendum or to the external action of the independence movement does not harm the financial interests of the European Union, as these are national resources and not community funds.

Likewise, it recalls that the norm is limited to facts related to the procés and expressly excludes those behaviors that have involved serious intentional violations of human rights, an assessment that corresponds to national courts.

However, Luxembourg introduces a relevant clarification by warning that the law cannot empty the mechanism of preliminary questions of content. Therefore, it points out that, if the deadlines provided for extinguishing liabilities or lifting precautionary measures prevented waiting for a CJEU response, national judges could disregard these temporary limitations.

The CDRs celebrate the ruling and announce pressure to be amnestied

The resolution has also been received with satisfaction by the members of the Committees for the Defense of the Republic (CDR) prosecuted for terrorism, whose procedures were outside the immediate application of the law.

"I am a little relieved, but it remains for the Audiencia Nacional to do what it has to do and grant us amnesty. Until then, we have this thorn," said Txevi Buïgas, one of the twelve defendants, who face sentences of up to 27 years in prison.

For his part, Martí Majoral, spokesperson for Alerta Solidaria, an organization that provides legal defense for several of the accused, announced that they will maintain pressure to accelerate the application of the norm: "We will exert the necessary pressure from a legal, media, and social point of view so that the application of the amnesty is not delayed one day longer."