European Parliament kicks off new term amid protests over exclusion of Catalan members
- Parliament convened for the first time as national EU leaders gathered in Brussels for a third day to hash out who will get the bloc’s top jobs
The European Parliament opened for a new term on Tuesday with the highest number of women ever but short of three pro-independence Catalan members who were barred from joining as hundreds protested over their exclusion outside the building.
Further controversy arose when 29 members of Britain’s anti-EU Brexit Party turned their backs as the European Union anthem – Beethoven’s Ode to Joy – was played live at the opening ceremony – a gesture that other lawmakers denounced as disgraceful and pathetic.
The parliament convened for the first time as national EU leaders gathered in Brussels for a third consecutive day to hash out who will get the bloc’s top jobs under the new mandate. EU-wide elections in May returned a fragmented 751-member parliament, which was set to elect its president on Wednesday.
Catalan separatist leaders Carles Puigdemont, Toni Comin and Oriol Junqueras have not been able to take their seats in Strasbourg as the Spanish electoral authority has not recognised them as members.
Puigdemont and Comin have lived in self-imposed exile since warrants were issued for their arrest in Spain after a failed bid for secession for Catalonia in 2017.