BRUSSELS—Carles Puigdemont, the former president of the Spanish region of Catalonia, has announced he will run for a seat in the European Parliament, in a bid to win immunity from criminal charges linked to a 2017 independence referendum.
The separatist leader, who is currently living in exile in Belgium, will be the lead candidate for his party Junts per Catalunya (Together for Catalonia) in the Europe-wide contest to be held May 26.
Announcing his candidacy, Puigdemont said in a tweet: “It is time to take another step forward to internationalize Catalonia’s right to self-determination, right from the heart of Europe to the whole world.”
In an interview with Catalan radio Rac1, he vowed to return to his home region, claiming that becoming a member of the European Parliament would give him immunity from criminal charges.
“From the moment the results are declared, the immunity works. If I am an MEP, I will go back to Catalonia because I will get immunity everywhere, including in Spain,” he said.
However, that interpretation has been disputed by sources in both Madrid and Brussels, where officials have argued that the former president’s immunity can’t be applied because he has already been charged with offenses.
The separatist leader has been warned that he is likely to be arrested and imprisoned if he returns to Spain to be formally sworn in as a European parliamentarian.
