The Socialist Party (PSOE) has attempted to remove references to Carles Puigdemont’s alleged meetings with the Kremlin from a European Parliament resolution calling for an investigation into the ties between Russian interference during Catalonia’s independence movement and the former President of the Generalitat, now a member of the European Parliament for Junts.
The resolution, which was passed with 432 votes in favor, 56 against, and 18 abstentions, condemns Russian meddling in European democratic processes and specifically points to connections between Catalan separatism and Moscow. It received support from PP, VOX, PSOE, and Ciudadanos, while ERC, Unidas Podemos, and Junts voted against it, and the PNV abstained.
Puigdemont did not participate in the vote. Despite the Socialists’ efforts, amendments directly implicating Puigdemont for his purported 2017 meetings with Russian envoys during the Catalan process were approved.
The resolution also mentions the amnesty proposed by Pedro Sánchez’s government for Catalan independence supporters, highlighting that those “who have maintained relations with individuals close to the Kremlin” demand amnesty for their alleged crimes.
The social democratic group, along with the left and the Greens, including ERC, voted against these right-wing-promoted amendments, but their 200 votes were not enough to prevent their approval by the popular, liberal, and conservative factions.
