Spain's Constitutional Court annuls Catalan independence declaration
SPAIN'S Constitutional Court ruled illegal the ousted Catalan parliament's recent vote to declare the region independent from Spain.
Spanish authorities took the unprecedented step of seizing control of Catalonia, one of Spain's 17 autonomous regions, after a majority of regional lawmakers there ignored Constitutional Court orders and passed an independence declaration on Oct. 27. Spain removed the regional government, dissolved the parliament and called a new regional election for next month.
Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said yesterday the elections should open "a new political era" in the region with the return to normality and respect for Spain's laws.
Eight members of the dismissed Catalan Cabinet and two activists were sent to jail as a Spanish court studies possible charges of rebellion and sedition against them.
Former Catalan regional president Carles Puigdemont and four of his aides have fled to Brussels, where they are fighting Spanish arrest and extradition orders.
Their presence in the European capital is sowing divisions within the Belgian government. Some Belgian lawmakers have criticized Prime Minister Charles Michel for not taking tougher action against Puigdemont, and others complain that the Catalan leader's presence was inflaming Flemish separatists in Belgium.
Speaking to Belgian lawmakers yesterday, Michel refused to comment on Puigdemont's political actions, saying that his case must be handled by judicial authorities alone.
"Mr. Puigdemont is a European citizen who must be held accountable for his actions just like any other European citizens — with rights and obligations but no privileges," he said. Michel also stressed that the Spanish government remains his partner.
Catalonia, with 7.5 million people, represents a fifth of Spain's gross domestic product and polls show its people roughly evenly divided over independence. Puigdemont claimed a banned Oct. 1 secession referendum gave it a mandate to declare independence.