Italian MEPs ask the President of the European Parliament to defend the late Sassoli from the words of the Central Electoral Board

They ask for protection from the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, before the “words and tone” of the Spanish Central Electoral Board (JEC). There are seven Italian MEPs, from the Democratic Party, to which the previous president of the European Parliament, David Sassoli, belonged, and they have written to his successor, the Maltese Metsola, after knowing the content of a communication from the JEC to the presidency of the European Parliament around the credentials of MEPs Carles Puigdemont, Toni Comín, Clara Ponsatí and Jordi Solé.

In its response to Metsola, the Electoral Board protested that Sassoli had “in fact” recognized Puigdemont and the other three pro-independence leaders as MEPs without consulting him and against his criteria, despite the December 2019 ruling since, as he acknowledged a judgment of the General Court of the European Union this summer Puigdemont acquired the status of European deputy on June 13, 2019, when the JEC declared him an elected deputy and was published in the BOE.

“Recently we have learned from the Spanish press of the latest response from the Central Electoral Board (JEC) to your kind request about the situation of the Catalan deputies elected to the European Parliament in 2019”, write the seven Italian deputies in a letter to Metsola this Wednesday and to which eldiario.es has had access: “We are deeply astonished by the words and tone with which an official body of the Spanish electoral administration denigrates the work of former President of the European Parliament David Sassoli. We are all aware that former President Sassoli acted in full right by applying, immediately and to the letter, the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Communities of 12/19/2019 (C-502-19), respecting the roles institutions and cautiously avoiding getting into the background of the debate”.

That sentence, on the preliminary rulings in the Oriol Junqueras case, established that the only essential requirement to be a MEP is the votes at the polls, not a subsequent procedure, such as the swearing-in of the Constitution in Madrid.

“As Members of this House”, they continue, “we express our outrage at the attempt to tarnish the memory of our former colleague David Sassoli. Given that you have committed to defending and honoring the memory of David Sassoli, we ask that you continue to do so even in the face of those, such as the Central Electoral Board (JEC) of the Kingdom of Spain, who try to exploit the events and legacy of a great European like David Sassoli”.

The MEPs conclude: “Firmly rejecting such acts is a duty not only for the memory of David Sassoli but also for the integrity and prestige of the European Parliament”.

The signatories of the letter to Metsola are: Massimiliano Smerigllio, Brando Benifei, Franco Roberti, Pietro Bartolo, Elisabetta Gualmini, Camilla Laureti and Alessandra Moretti.