Clara Ponsatí i Obiols (; born 19 March 1957) is a Catalan economist and politician. She was appointed Minister of Education of the

Government of Catalonia The Generalitat de Catalunya (; ; ), or the Government of Catalonia, is the institutional system by which Catalonia is self-governed as an autonomous community of Spain. It is made up of the Parliament of Catalonia, the President of the Govern ...

by President

Carles Puigdemont Carles Puigdemont i Casamajó (; born 29 December 1962) is a Catalan politician and journalist from Spain. He has been the President of Together for Catalonia (Junts) since 2024, having previously held the office from 2020 to 2022. He served ...

on 14 July 2017, and was dismissed by the

Spanish Government The government of Spain () is the central government which leads the executive branch and the General State Administration of the Kingdom of Spain. The Government consists of the Prime Minister and the Ministers; the prime minister has the o ...

pursuant to Article 155 of the

Spanish Constitution The Spanish Constitution () is the supreme law of the Kingdom of Spain. It was enacted after its approval in 1978 in a constitutional referendum; it represents the culmination of the Spanish transition to democracy. The current version was a ...

on 27 October 2017, due to the organisation of the

2017 Catalan independence referendum An independence referendum was held on 1 October 2017 in the Spanish autonomous community of Catalonia, passed by the Parliament of Catalonia as the Law on the Referendum on Self-determination of Catalonia and called by the Generalitat de Catalun ...

and the subsequent declaration of independence. On 30 October 2017, she went into exile in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

together with Carles Puigdemont and three other members of his government, Lluís Puig,

Antoni Comín Antoni "Toni" Comín i Oliveres (; born 7 March 1971) is a Catalan intellectual and politician from Spain. He is currently the executive vice-president of the Council for the Republic and has been an MEP since July 2019. He is the fourth chil ...

and Meritxell Serret. In May 2018, she returned to the

University of St Andrews The University of St Andrews (, ; abbreviated as St And in post-nominals) is a public university in St Andrews, Scotland. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland and, f ...

(Scotland) as a professor. In the 2019 Spanish municipal elections, she was placed last on the list of the candidacy Barcelona és capital - Primàries, led by Jordi Graupera. Since February 2020, she is a Member of the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...

within th
Junts i Lliures per Europa
grouping.

Life and academic career

Clara Ponsatí was born in 1957 in

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

, Catalonia, daughter of Josep Maria Ponsatí i Capdevila and Montserrat Obiols i Germà. Her grandfather was the artist Josep Obiols i Palau, her uncle is the politician Raimon Obiols i Germà, and her sister is the Catalan philologist Agnès Ponsatí Obiols. She attended the Escola Talitha. In 1980, Ponsatí graduated in the

Universitat de Barcelona The University of Barcelona (official name in ; UB), formerly also known as Central University of Barcelona (), is a public university, public research university located in the city of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It was established in 1450. Wi ...

's Faculty of Economics, and she completed a master's degree in economics in the

Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona The Autonomous University of Barcelona (; Spanish: ; ; UAB) is a public university mostly located in Cerdanyola del Vallès, near the city of Barcelona in Catalonia, Spain. , the university consists of 57 departments in the experimental, lif ...

. In 1988 she received her Ph.D. in economics from the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

, where she remained some years as a professor. Ponsatí specializes in game theory and political economy, with a focus on models of bargaining and conflict resolution. In 2001, Ponsatí joined the Institute of Economic Analysis of the CSIC (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas) as a researcher and managed the institution from 2006 to 2012. She has also been visiting professor at the universities of

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

and Georgetown. In 2013, she denounced that the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport decided not to renew her position as visiting professor of the Prince of Asturias Chair at

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

because of her favourable position on

Catalan independence The Catalan independence movement (; ; ) is a Social movement, social and political movement with roots in Catalan nationalism that seeks the independence of Catalonia from Spain. While proposals, organizations and individuals advocating for Ca ...

and the right to self-determination, which Ponsatí considered a manoeuvre of "censorship" against her political opinions. Her views on the relations between Catalonia and Spain caused the Spanish Foreign Affairs and Cooperation Minister, José Manuel García-Margallo, to state: ''"una cátedra en el extranjero no debe servir'' ''de base para alentar procesos secesionistas contrarios a la Constitución''", (This chair abroad should not be used to encourage support to secession movements contrary to the Constitution), remarking: "''mientras yo sea ministro no ocurrirá en ninguna embajada española''" (As long as I'm the minister this will not occur in any Spanish embassy). In January 2015, Ponsatí was appointed director of the School of Economics and Finance at the

in Scotland, her last academic post before her appointment, in July 2017, as Minister of Education of the Generalitat de Catalonia.

Political activity

From mid-2016 to July 2017, she was a member of the National Secretariat of l'

Assemblea Nacional Catalana The Assemblea Nacional Catalana (in English: Catalan National Assembly, ANC by its Catalan acronym) is an organization that seeks the political independence of Catalonia from Spain. It also promotes the independence of other Catalan-speaking reg ...

, just before being appointed as Minister of Education in the remodelling of the Government of the

Generalitat de Catalunya The Generalitat de Catalunya (; ; ), or the Government of Catalonia, is the institutional system by which Catalonia is self-governed as an autonomous community of Spain. It is made up of the Parliament of Catalonia, the President of the Govern ...

carried out by President Puigdemont. From her Ministry, she participated in the organization and celebration of the

, which required the opening of schools as polling stations. After being dismissed as minister, and the Autonomy of Catalunya being suspended pursuant to Article 155 of the

by the Spanish Government, on 30 October 2017 she went into exile in

with President

and three other members of the

Catalan Government The Generalitat de Catalunya (; ; ), or the Government of Catalonia, is the institutional system by which Catalonia is self-governed as an autonomous community of Spain. It is made up of the Parliament of Catalonia, the President of the Governme ...

, Lluís Puig,

and Meritxell Serret. At the 2017 elections to the Parliament of Catalonia, Clara Ponsatí was elected member of the Parliament within the list of Junts per Catalunya, but she gave up her seat in January 2018 to guarantee the pro-independence majority in the investiture session. On 10 March 2018, she announced that she was leaving

and moving to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

to return to the

University of St. Andrews The University of St Andrews (, ; abbreviated as St And in post-nominals) is a public university in St Andrews, Scotland. It is the oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland and, following the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, t ...

as a professor. In April 2019 Cara Ponsatí ran as number 3 on the list o
Junts i Lliures per Europa
for the elections to the

, headed by President Puigdemont. The candidacy won two seats, those of Puigdemont and Comín. Ponsatí could not become a

Member of the European Parliament A member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been Election, elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and S ...

until the formalisation of the

Brexit Brexit (, a portmanteau of "Britain" and "Exit") was the Withdrawal from the European Union, withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU). Brexit officially took place at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February ...

, when the new distribution of seats entailed the entry of Ponsatí to the European Parliament. Within the European Parliament, Clara Ponsatí is a member of the Committee on Industry, Technology, Research and Energy and of the Sub-Committee on Fiscal Affairs. She is also a substitute member of the

Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs The Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) is a committee of the European Parliament which is responsible for the regulation of financial services, the free movement of capital and payments, taxation and competition policies, oversight ...

, and participates in the delegation for relations with Canada. In her plenary interventions, Ponsatí has denounced on numerous occasions the failure of the

to comply with the

Rule of Law The essence of the rule of law is that all people and institutions within a Body politic, political body are subject to the same laws. This concept is sometimes stated simply as "no one is above the law" or "all are equal before the law". Acco ...

in terms of civil and political rights and separation of powers, as well as highlighting that the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

is not the Union of Peoples that it was intended to be. In the course of her parliamentary term, Clara Ponsatí and her team created the websit
‘ruleoflaw.cat’
that consists of a database on the violations of the rights of the Catalans from 2003 to present time. In addition, the website enables the user to report to the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...

these violations so they can be included in the annual Rule of Law Report published by the European Commission on the current rule of law situation in the

Member States A member state is a state that is a member of an international organization or of a federation or confederation. Since the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) include some members that are not sovereign states ...

of the European Union.

European Arrest Warrants

On 24 March 2018, the

Spanish Supreme Court The Supreme Court ('', TS'') is the highest court in the Kingdom of Spain. The court has original jurisdiction over cases against high-ranking officials of the Kingdom and over cases regarding the legalization of political parties. It also has u ...

Judge Pablo Llarena issued a

European Arrest Warrant The European Arrest Warrant (EAW) is an arrest warrant valid throughout all member states of the European Union (EU). Once issued, it requires another member state to arrest and transfer a criminal suspect or sentenced person to the issuing stat ...

against her, and Ponsatí's extradition proceedings commenced before Scottish courts. The rector of the

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

Aamer Anwar Aamer Anwar (born 30 December 1967) is a British political activist and lawyer of Pakistani origin. He was an active participant in the Stop the War Coalition, and campaigned against the 31st G8 summit at Gleneagles. He has been a longstanding ...

, was her defence attorney. On 28 March 2018, Ponsatí appeared before the Scottish authorities, who released her provisionally. On 19 July, Judge Pablo Llarena withdrew the European Arrest Warrant against Ponsatí and against the rest of the exiles in

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

and

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

after the German court of

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; ; ; ; ; occasionally in English ''Sleswick-Holsatia'') is the Northern Germany, northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical Duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of S ...

denied the surrender of President Puigdemont to Spain for the crime of rebellion. On 5 November 2019, Judge Llarena issued a new European Arrest Warrant to the

against Clara Ponsatí based on the crime of sedition, Initially, the UK police refused to process the European Arrest Warrant as it was deemed "disproportionate" under British law and it was requested that, in order to re-assess the decision, more information had to be provided. This created a diplomatic conflict and the United Kingdom eventually issued another document to state that deeming the warrant disproportionate had been a mistake. After judge Llarena sent the additional information requested by the British authorities, the United Kingdom agreed to process the European Arrest Warrant. On 14 November 2019, Ponsatí gave a statement in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

before a Scottish court, who ended up dismissing the European Arrest Warrant in August 2021, when Ponsatí was already an MEP and was a resident of Belgium. Although Llarena did not withdraw the European Arrest Warrant, the Belgian police did not arrest Ponsatí nor did the Belgian courts open any proceedings, as she enjoyed

parliamentary immunity Parliamentary immunity, also known as legislative immunity, is a system in which politicians or other political leaders are granted full immunity from legal prosecution, both civil prosecution and criminal prosecution, in the course of the exe ...

as a

. The immunity she enjoyed as a Member of the European Parliament was first waived on 9 March 2021. The results were: 404 votes in favour, 247 against and 42 abstentions. The MEPs appealed the decision but, on 5 July 2023, the

General Court of the European Union The General Court, informally known as the European General Court (EGC), is a constituent court of the Court of Justice of the European Union. It hears actions taken against the institutions of the European Union by individuals and member stat ...

confirmed the decisions of the

. The appeal against the General Court's decision is pending before the

European Court of Justice The European Court of Justice (ECJ), officially the Court of Justice (), is the supreme court of the European Union in matters of European Union law. As a part of the Court of Justice of the European Union, it is tasked with interpreting ...

. Concomitantly, and due to the reform of the

Spanish Criminal Code The Criminal Code is a law that codifies most criminal offences in Spain. The Code is established by an organic law, the Organic Law 10/1995, of 23 November, of the Criminal Code (''Ley Orgánica 10/1995, de 23 de noviembre, del Código Penal' ...

, that, inter alia, suppressed the crime of sedition, on 12 January 2023, Spanish Supreme Court judge Pablo Llarena modified the indictment of Ponsatí. Llarena indicted Ponsatí for the crime of disobedience, and withdrew the international, European and national arrest warrants against her for the crime of sedition. Nonetheless, he issued a new national arrest warrant for the crime of disobedience against her. The Criminal Chamber of the Spanish Supreme Court confirmed the amending of the indictment in June 2023.

Return to Catalonia

On 28 March 2023, even though the national arrest warrant against her was still in force in Spain, Clara Ponsatí came back from

exile Exile or banishment is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons ...

. Once she got to

from

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

by car, she called a press conference at the Journalist Association premises in Barcelona to launch th
‘ruleoflaw.cat’
website. Around six, while she was on her way to the Oficina Europarlamentària of Junts i Lliures per Europa in the

Born Born may refer to: * Childbirth * Born (surname), a surname (see also for a list of people with the name) * ''Born'' (comics), a comic book limited series Places * Born, Belgium, a village in the German-speaking Community of Belgium * Born, Luxe ...

, she was arrested by the Mossos d'Esquadra in the 'Plaça de la Catedral', in spite of the interim parliamentary immunity she enjoyed, as granted by the vice-president of the Court of Justice on 24 May 2022.

Òmnium Cultural Òmnium Cultural () is a Spanish association based in Barcelona, Catalonia. It was originally created in the 1960s to promote the Catalan language and spread Catalan culture. Over the years it has increased its involvement in broader political i ...

and the Consell de la República called a demonstration before Barcelona's Ciutat de la Justícia. After appearing before a judge in Barcelona Investigating Court number 4, the duty court, she was released at 22:49. Pablo Llarena summoned her to appear before the

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

on 24 April to give a statement for the crime of disobedience. On the same day, Ponsatí's defence team filed an

habeas corpus ''Habeas corpus'' (; from Medieval Latin, ) is a legal procedure invoking the jurisdiction of a court to review the unlawful detention or imprisonment of an individual, and request the individual's custodian (usually a prison official) to ...

against the arrest, alleging that it had been illegal due to the provisional immunity she enjoyed. The court rejected the petition and her defence team requested the annulment of proceedings and the issuing of

preliminary ruling A preliminary ruling is a decision of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) on the interpretation of European Union law that is given in response to a request (a preliminary reference) from a court or a tribunal of a member state. A preliminary ru ...

before the

Court of Justice of the European Union The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ( or "''CJUE''"; Latin: Curia) is the Judiciary, judicial branch of the European Union (EU). Seated in the Kirchberg, Luxembourg, Kirchberg quarter of Luxembourg City, Luxembourg, this EU ins ...

. In addition, Ponsatí submitted a request for the defence of her parliamentary immunity to the

President

Roberta Metsola Roberta Metsola (; ; born 18 January 1979) is a Malta, Maltese politician who has served as the president of the European Parliament since January 2022. She is a member of Malta's Nationalist Party (Malta), Nationalist Party (PN) and the European ...

, who referred the request to the

Committee on Legal Affairs The Committee on Legal Affairs (JURI) is a committee of the European Parliament. Responsibilities The main responsibilities of the committee are the interpretation and application of international and European law and the compliance of European U ...

. On 24 April 2023, Ponsatí did not appear before Llarena. Nonetheless, Ponsatí lodged a submission reminding Llarena that she enjoyed immunity and, in accordance with the case law of the

, he had the obligation to suspend proceedings against her until the

had reached a decision on her request. During the forthcoming months, the Prosecutor's Office and the State's Attorney requested Llarena to summon Ponsatí again. Llarena went further than that and, on 21 June 2023, issued a new national arrest warrant against her. On 24 July 2023, Clara Ponsatí announced on her social media that she was in

and was arrested again. A new request for the defence of her immunity was submitted to

President

. This second time around, she was brought to the Ciutat de la Justícia in

and Llarena took a statement via form, that she did not answer. She was released after a short while and, on the following day, Llarena closed the pre-trial stage of proceedings. In September 2023, the Prosecutor's Office requested the commencement of trial proceedings against Ponsatí.

Publications

*
Molts i ningú. Embastat de memòries i altres històries
'' Clara Ponsatí; La Campana, 2022 *
The Case of the Catalans: Why So Many Catalans No Longer Want to be Part of Spain
'' Clara Ponsatí (Ed.); Luath Press, 2020
The stability of Multi-Level Governments
Enriqueta Aragonès; Clara Ponsatí; Barcelona Graduate School of Economics, July 2019
Meritocracy, egalitarianism and the stability of majoritarian organizations
Salvador Barberà; Carmen Bevià; Clara Ponsatí; Games and Economics Behavior, February 2015, 91:237-257
Multiple-issue bargaining and axiomatic solutions
Clara Ponsatí; Joel Watson; Pub.: University of California, San Diego. Department of Economics; (Calif.) * L'endemà; by Clara Ponsatí& alt.; Pub.: arcelonaMassa d'Or Produccions Coroporació Catalana de Mitjans Audiovisuals D.L. 2014
Von Neumann i la teoria de jocs
Ponsatí, Clara; Pub.: 2010-03-11T09:25:00Z 2010-03-11T09:25:00Z 2010-02-24
Robust bilateral Trade and Mediated Bargaining
Jernej Copic; Clara Ponsatí; Journal of the European Economic Association (2008) 6:570-580
Bargaining over multiple issues with maximin and leximin preferences
Amparo M. Mármol; Clara Ponsatí; Social Choice and Welfare (2008) 30:211-223 * Bargaining one-dimensional social choices; Daniel Cardona; Clara Ponsatí; Journal of Economic Theory (2007) 137:627-651
Economic Diplomamcy
Clara Ponsatí; Journal of Public Economic Theory (2004) 6:675-691
Randomly available outside options in bargaining
Clara Ponsatí; József Sákovics; Spanish Economic REview (2001) 3:231-252
Rubinstein bargaining with two-sided outside options
Clara Ponsatí; József Sákovics; Economic Theory (1998) 11:667-672
''Multiple-issue bargaining and axiomatic solutions''
Clara Ponsati; Joel Watson; International Journal of Game Theory (1997) 26:501-52 * ''Mediation is necessary for efficient bargaining''; Clara Ponsati Obiols; József Sákovics; Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona Departament d'Economia i d'Història Econòmica; Pub.: Barcelona Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Departament d'Economia i d'Història Econòmica 1992. * ''El Finançament de les comunitats autònomes : comparació internacional''; Clara Ponsati Obiols; Institut d'Anàlisi Econòmica.; Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona- 1990. * ''Search and Bargaining in Large Markets With Homogeneous Traders''; Clara Ponsatí;Publication: Contributions in Theoretical Economics, v4 n1 (2004/2/9);Pub.: Walter de Gruyter eJournals * ''La financiación de la Comunidades autónomas : comparación internacional''; Clara Ponsati i Obiols; Publication: Revista de economia publica, 1991, 12, pp. 65–10

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ponsati i Obiols, Clara 1957 births 21st-century Spanish women politicians Academics of the University of St Andrews Education ministers of Catalonia Exiled politicians from Catalonia Fugitives wanted by Spain Living people Members of the 12th Parliament of Catalonia University of Minnesota College of Liberal Arts alumni Women members of the Parliament of Catalonia People barred from public office MEPs for Spain 2019–2024