Spanish minister asks EU to rethink European arrest warrant

Spain’s Minister of Justice, Rafael Catalá, is to ask member states of the European Union on Friday to reflect on the “list of crimes” included in the European arrest warrant issued for the Catalan president Carles Puigdemont, repealed by Spain on Tuesday.

Catalá opened the door to a reissuing of the arrest warrant, saying that its withdrawal was made “without prejudice,” and that “in the future” it may be “required again.” According to the Spanish Justice Minister, an "automatic application" of extraditions between countries of the European Union is necessary.

"The whole system is based on trust, the recognition that we are all entitled to law, with independent judicial powers, that the rules are respected and what a judge of any EU nationality decides must be applied, recognized and executed as much as possible by another judge, "he said.

Catalá accused Puigdemont and the deposed ministers of promoting an atmosphere of “pollution” and “permanent falsification” in Brussels, criticising Puigdemont’s statement that Spain withdrew the arrest warrant out of fear of looking ridiculous.

“The governments have nothing to say," Catalá said. "It was a judge that decided it, not the government and not the country," he insisted. The Minister of Justice recalled that in the last three years, Belgium has issued 212 European arrest warrants to Spain, and that all have been dealt with "except in two cases, for humanitarian reasons." In spite of this, Catalá insisted that the State does not "complain about one specific issue", referring to the case of Puigdemont, denying that there is "a problem between Spain and Belgium."