Puigdemont votes against himself: he supports the resolution of the European Parliament that condemns his ties with Russia

Carles Puigdemont reaches the maximum degree of paradox in his current position as MEP: voting against himself. The former Catalan president has supported this Thursday a resolution of the European Parliament condemning his ties to the Kremlin, revealed in a American newspaper report New York Times. The European Parliament demands an in-depth investigation into whether Moscow’s interference in the process Catalan has been a new attempt to destabilize the EU by the regime of Vladimir Putin. The text was adopted by 494 votes in favor, 103 against and 72 abstentions.

The request to investigate Puigdemont has been included in a report on the deterioration of relations between the EU and Russia prepared by Lithuanian MEP Andrius Kubilius. The amendment on Puigdemont has been promoted by the European socialists. “Recent discoveries about close and regular contacts between Russian officials, including members of the security service, and representatives of a group of Catalan secessionists require an in-depth investigation,” the amendment calls for.

“This could turn out to be yet another example of the Russian interference in member states and the constant attempts by Russia to exploit any issue that it can to promote internal destabilization in the EU “, concludes the text. The amendment was approved on Wednesday night by 462 votes in favor (among them PSOE, PP, Cs and Vox), 113 against (among them Unidas Podemos, PNV or Bildu) and 95 abstentions.

Carles Puigdemont and his exconsellers fugitives Clara Ponsatí and Toni Comín – who appear as not registered because no political group has admitted their entry – voted against the amendment. However, when voting on the resolution as a whole, JxCat MEPs have decided to change the direction of their vote and support the text, with the amendment condemning his contacts with Russia included.

Also the PNV MEP, Izaskun Bilbao, has gone to yes. In contrast, Unidos Podemos and Bildu have maintained their vote against the resolution, while Vox has changed to abstention.

The former Catalan president justifies this schizophrenia with the argument that “We fully share the concern about Russia’s interference in the Union’s democracyHowever, he then “deplores” the Socialists’ amendment on the ties between the Kremlin and the Catalan secessionists, even though it is an integral and already inseparable part of the resolution.

“The amendment tries to give a false image of what a democratic movement is as an instrument aimed at destabilizing the EU, with the aim of hiding the incessant repression to which it is subjected and isolating it from possible allies who can raise their voices against the human rights violations that Spain is constantly committing, “says JxCat it’s a statement.

“The alleged involvement of Russian intelligence in the Catalan independence process it is an absolute falsehood (O fake news, as it is called now). The invention comes from a deeply anti-independence police force such as the Civil Guard and derives from political espionage of illegally obtained private messages, “continues Puigdemont.

“The European Parliament should protect itself from inadvertently contributing to the dissemination of fake news since this seriously affects their legitimacy to condemn disinformation campaigns of other countries, including Russia “, concludes the statement of the former Catalan president. The other contradiction is that Puigdemont himself has supported a resolution that he considers false..

The resolution qualifies the Putin regime as “a stagnant authoritarian kleptocracy led by a president for life surrounded by a circle of oligarchs. “MEPs demand that the EU” respond to aggressive Russian policies. “Brussels must prepare not to recognize the Russian Parliament that has come out of the elections to be held this weekend if these they do not comply with democratic principles and international law, concludes the resolution.

The European Parliament considers, despite everything, that a democratic future is still possible for Russia and asks the governments to adopt a strategy for that scenario, combining incentives and conditions to reinforce democratic tendencies in the country. In any case, the EU must establish an alliance with the United States and other like-minded countries to counter the efforts of Russia and China to weaken democracy in the world and destabilize the European political order.

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