Puigdemont says a potential return to Catalonia is unaffected by EGC ruling

Former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont says that a potential return to Catalonia is unaffected by the European General Court's ruling on Wednesday morning that left him without parliamentary immunity. 

"The possibility of returning is the same as before this ruling," Puigdemont said in a press conference at the European Parliament in Brussels. 

MEP Toni Comín, also affected by the EGC ruling, added that "if we won or lost today, our situation wasn't going to change much."

The former minister added that "winning would not have meant returning [to Catalonia] immediately, and losing also doesn't mean being extradited immediately."

"We are persecuted politicians," Puigdemont said, "we are not drug traffickers or arms dealers, we are persecuted for our political ideas. I will not stop insisting that there is space for my rights in Europe."

Clara Ponsatí, the third Junts MEP, added that "this is a difficult day, as everyone's political rights are less protected from member states' abuses."

The leader of the 2017 independence referendum explained that the defense team will present appeals to the European Court of Justice, as the ruling today left "a lot of margin for presenting an appeal." 

In a similar vein, Comín explained that the appeal to such court will be made because of "European Court of Justice's stronger responsibility towards fundamental human rights."

Puigdemont added that the defence team "expect a ruling in our favor because we believe the decision [today] came with many cracks."

The MEP said they will appeal for the sake of "worried Europeans," as to him this decision shows that "fundamental rights are in danger." 

Comín and Puigdemont admitted that this was not the result they were hoping for: "Winning was important for us in political terms, as it meant that the court in Luxembourg would recognize that Spain has not acted as a state of law."

Part of the appeal will also be based on the questioning of the partiality of the Chair of the European Parliament Committee on Legal Affairs, Adrián Vázquez, who is also an MEP for Ciudadanos. The argument of the pro-independence leaders is that Vázquez previously publicly called them "political outcasts and clowns." 

Gonzalo Boye, lawyer for the MEPs, added that they will present a "strong appeal, as the EGC is contradicting the European Court of Justice when they state that there is no space for questioning of the sentence."

Right now, the defense team has two months to appeal the decision, which will give the court six months to make a decision.

Carles Puigdemont has also affirmed that he will be attending the plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg next Monday, as his lawyer, Boye, said that they have freedom of movement as an MEP.