Basque nationalists break from EU election coalition with Puigdemont’s party

The party of former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont (PDeCAT) and the Basque nationalist party (PNB) have broken their European election coalition over discrepancies about him topping the ticket.

Exiled in Belgium and prosecuted in Spain, it’s not clear whether Puigdemont will be able to effectively become a member of the European Parliament if elected: while he pledged to return to Catalonia invoking the “immunity" of MEPs, EU sources play down the chances of him assuming the post and stress that Spanish authorities will have the last say.

The pro-independence leader announced his bid to run in the European Parliament election two weeks ago. While PDeCat and the Basque Nationalist Party have run together since 2004, the latter said they had not been previously notified of Puigdemont’s candidacy.