Pro-independence parties to take suspension of MPs to plenary session

The two largest pro-independence parties have found a way out on their disagreements on how to react to the suspension of MPs, ruled by the Spanish Supreme Court in summer.

President Torra's Junts per Catalunya (JxCat) and Esquerra Republicana (ERC) have agreed to ask a parliamentary advisory body to have their say on what the reaction should be.

The parties have also agreed on taking the issue to the plenary session, although speaker Roger Torrent (ERC) and vice president Josep Costa (JxCat) did not give details on that in a press conference taking place on Tuesday afternoon.

A ruling made July 10

On July 10 the investigating judge in charge of the judicial case against the independence movement, Pablo Llarena, ruled a precautionary suspension of six MPs, including the exiled former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont and the jailed former ministers Junqueras, Romeva, Sànchez, Rull and Turull.

While ERC accepted a temporary replacement of all the suspended MPs, JxCat did not agree and said that Puigdemont should not be replaced.

The current Catalan president, Quim Torra, and JxCat party aim to restore Puigdemont as head of the country, although he risks prison if he returns to Catalonia. However, the law only allows current MPs to vie for this post.

The disagreements between ERC and JxCat peaked last July, when the parliament speaker canceled a plenary session after lack of a joint response to the judge's ruling.

Pro-independence forces have been in talks to find a way out of this crisis for the past two months –and this has led the chamber to not meet since then, which has drawn criticism by the opposition.