Oriol Junqueras, Raül Romeva and Dolors Bassa have appealed an order from the Tribunal de Cuentas, Spain’s Court of Accounts, which asked parties in the Catalan independence spending case to address whether European Union funds were used.

The appeal, reported on 23 July by La Vanguardia, describes the order as improper and argues that it does not apply a recent Court of Justice of the European Union judgement on the amnesty law. The outcome matters to the former Catalan officials facing accounting proceedings because the Tribunal must decide whether the amnesty applies to their case or whether it can continue examining the source of the funds concerned.

The order does not require any action from residents. Its immediate deadline applies to the parties in the proceedings, who have been given ten days to submit arguments and documents about the origin of the money.

Tribunal asks whether EU funds were involved

According to EFE reporting published on 20 July, the Tribunal de Cuentas asked the prosecution, private accusers and defence teams whether the amnesty might not apply if spending connected with the procés, the Catalan independence process, had been financed with EU funds.

The case includes around 30 former senior members of the Catalan government, EFE reported, including Junqueras, former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont and former Catalan president Artur Mas.

The Tribunal’s order, as reported by EFE, referred to the EU court judgement’s condition that the acts examined must be linked to funds that “do not come from the European Union budget and are not intended for it”.

Elena Hernáez Salguero, the councillor in the Tribunal de Cuentas’ Second Adjudicating Department, issued the order cited by EFE. The Tribunal asked the parties to provide any documents they considered relevant to establishing the origin of the funds.

  • On 20 July, the Tribunal gave the parties ten days to make submissions and provide documentation.
  • The order raised the possibility that the amnesty law would not apply if EU budget funds, funds administered by the EU, or funds held on its behalf had been used.
  • The deadline for a final Tribunal decision was suspended while the parties respond to that question.

Appeal follows request for an immediate amnesty decision

The defence teams have maintained that the Tribunal should apply the amnesty immediately after the EU court resolved the preliminary questions referred to it, EFE reported.

Junqueras, Romeva and Bassa are now challenging the Tribunal’s procedural order. The next formal step is for the parties to file their submissions and evidence on the funds’ origin within the ten-day period set by the Tribunal.

Reported by Source Text Link, Iñaki Pardo Torregrosa, infobae.com, Por Economía Digital / EFE, elmundo.es, Antena 3 Noticias Actualizado: 23 de abril de 2021, 21:42 Publicado: 23 de abril de 2021, 19:41, notimerica.com, Gerard Fageda, agencia, russpain.com, Nati Villanueva, Al Jazeera Staff, Eunseo Hong, José María Brunet, Mayte Piulachs, NTM / EP.