Catalan separatist leader Carles Puigdemont lost a European Union court fight to reinstate his parliamentary immunity, in a decision that could stoke tensions back in Spain ahead of a general election.
The European Parliament stripped Puigdemont of his immunity in 2021, paving the way for his extradition back to Spain where he is sought for his role in a botched independence referendum when he was Catalonia’s regional president.
The ruling at the EU’s General Court in Luxembourg will likely give further ammunition for the opposition to attack Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez ahead of the snap election on July 23. Puigdemont said on Twitter that he’ll file an appeal to the EU’s Court of Justice, the 27-nation bloc’s highest tribunal.
The People’s Party leader, Alberto Nunez Feijoo, who is leading opinion polls, has accused Sanchez of siding with the Catalan parties behind the secession attempt that almost tore the country apart.
In recent years, Sanchez has had to rely on Catalan separatist party Esquerra Republicana as well as pro-independence Basque groups to pass key legislation in a heavily fractured parliament.
Sanchez has said his strategy to negotiate with separatists has helped ease tensions in Catalonia, which reached its highest point with violent protests when the PP was in power. In 2021, Sanchez pardoned nine Catalan separatist leaders, and a year later abolished the crime of sedition, which could reduce the penalties that Puigdemont faces if he is extradited back to Spain.
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