Latest news with #CarlesPuigdemont
DW
26-06-2025
- Politics
- DW
Spain: Top court backs amnesty for Catalan separatists – DW – 06/26/2025
Spain's Constitutional Court ruled to uphold most aspects of the disputed amnesty law for Catalan separatists. However, the ruling does not directly benefit former separatist leader Carles Puigdemont. Spain's Constitutional Court on Thursday upheld key provisions of a disputed amnesty law for Catalan separatists involved in a failed 2017 push for the Catalonia's independence. Under the law, more than 300 people have been pardoned. "This is magnificent news for Spain," Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez told reporters in Brussels, adding that the amnesty served "to guarantee Spain's unity as well as our development and prosperity and coexistence between citizens and regions." In 2023, Sanchez's Socialist Party agreed to an amnesty with two Catalan separatist parties. The agreement was made in exchange for their support in a parliamentary vote, which allowed Sanchez to remain prime minister after the elections resulted in a hung parliament. Last year, lawmakers narrowly approved the bill, but the conservative opposition has deemed the legislation unconstitutional. They claim it was passed solely as a Socialist maneuver to ensure their continued rule. The Constitutional Court announced that it had rejected most points of an appeal by the opposition conservative People's Party (PP) against the amnesty's constitutionality by a vote of six to four. "Amnesty is not banned by the Constitution, and its adoption, when it responds to an exceptional situation and a legitimate public interest, may be constitutionally admissible," the court, which has a majority of judges nominated by the Socialists, said in a statement. The Constitutional Court's ruling offers some relief to Sanchez and his Socialist Party, which has been caught up in corruption allegations involving senior officials. PP leader Alberto Nunez Feijoo denounced the amnesty as "a corrupt transaction of impunity in exchange for power" and "an attack against the separation of powers." To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The Constitutional Court ruling does not directly benefit Carles Puigdemont, the former Catalan separatist leader who fled abroad to avoid prosecution after leading Catalonia's regional administration during the 2017 referendum. He currently lives in self-imposed exile in Belgium. The judge handling Puigdemont's case said the amnesty does not apply to him because he is also being sued for embezzlement in diverting funds for the referendum, a charge he denies. Puigdemont has appealed the decision, saying that the funds earmarked for the referendum were not for his personal gain. According to a court spokesperson, the Constitutional Court will not rule on the matter until later this year or next. The separatist leader was Catalonia's head of government in 2017, when the region unilaterally declared independence from Spain. This prompted Madrid to impose direct control, sparking Spain's worst political crisis in decades.
Local Spain
19-06-2025
- Business
- Local Spain
KEY POINTS: What changes about life in Spain in July 2025
Summer sales begin If you're looking for some new clothes to help keep you cool during the hot summers, then you're in luck. July 1st marks the official start of the summer sales in Spain, even though many stores may have started earlier. After a while you'll begin see signs for segundas rebajas (second sales), then terceras rebajas. Finally you'll see the remate final (final push), where discounts go up from 30 percent to 40 off, then 50 and finally up to a 70 percent price reduction. Festivals in Spain in July Many towns and cities across Spain celebrate festivals in July. The most well known of theses is San Fermín or Running of the Bulls, held in Pamplona from July 6th – 14th. The Galician city of Santiago de Compostela will also be holding its annual Fiestas de Santiago Apóstol on July 25th. Other festivities taking place in July include Bilbao's BBK music festival from the 10th to the 12th and the Moors and Christians parades in Villajoyosa starting on the 24th to the 31st, commemorating the famous battle of 1538. Pride celebrations will also take place in July. Madrid's LGBTIQ+ festival is celebrated from June 26th to July 6th throughout many areas of the city, but mainly in and around the barrio of Chueca. Inheritance and gift tax deduction in Madrid The region of Madrid is set to introduce a new reduction on inheritance and gift tax starting July 1st, following approval by the Legislative Assembly and publication in the regional Official Gazette. This means that tax discounts on money gifted between siblings and between aunts and uncles, nieces and nephews by blood will be increased from 25 to 50 percent, generating annual savings of €140 million for Madrid residents. The region has also introduced a 100 percent discount for sporadic gifts between individuals of less than €1,000, eliminating the obligation to file a self-assessment for anything below this amount. EU to study Spain's amnesty law The European Court of Justice will hold its first hearing on the amnesty law on July 15th. The first step will address preliminary questions raised by the National Court and the Court of Auditors regarding the Committees for the Defence of the Republic (CDR) and the expense of the failed Catalan independence process. This case affects 33 senior Catalan government officials, including former Catalan presidents Carles Puigdemont and Artur Mas. Deadline to register tourist flats All short-term, tourist rental owners will have to register their properties in a new system starting from July 1st. It means that in order for a home to be marketed on digital platforms like Airbnb or Idealista, it must now appear in a new registry – the so-called 'lease registration platform' (Ventanilla Única Digital de Arrendamientos in Spanish). Previously anyone could advertise on these online platforms. Spain's Renfe releases new train prices as free travel tickets end Spain's free train travel scheme for commuter (Cercanías) and mid-distance (Media Distancia) services is finally coming to an end. After over three years of discounted and free travel on certain Renfe services, from July 2025 the majority of travellers and commuters will now have to pay. Current tickets will only be valid until June 30th. This was initially brought in to help people combat financial losses after the pandemic. New fares will be offered from this summer, which will be in force from July 1st 2025. Season ticket prices from Renfe will include monthly passes for €20 and youth monthly passes for €10. Judges to go on strike All judges' and prosecutors' associations (apart from two) have called for protest on June 28th outside the Supreme Court to demand the withdrawal of the justice reforms. These affect workers' access to a career path at the Prosecutor's Office. If they don't achieve their objectives, they have announced that there will be walkouts on July 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. They have not ruled out extending the strike "depending on the institutional response and the status of the legislative bills following these protests'. Spain to introduce new road signs On July 1st, 2025, Spain will take a step further in modernising its road signs. The new catalogue of traffic signs approved by the Council of Ministers updates regulations which have been in force 2003. The purpose is to adapt to new forms of mobility, such as electric scooters and low-emission vehicles, as well as improve clarity on rules and safety. July tourism numbers likely to hit new record Tourism will continue to grow in Spain this summer, putting it very close to the France, which currently receives the most number of tourists in the world. Estimates indicate that a new record will be broken in 2025 with the arrival of 98 million tourists.
Irish Times
09-06-2025
- Politics
- Irish Times
Catalan amnesty expected to get court blessing amid political turmoil
On Tuesday Spain 's constitutional court will start debating the legality of an amnesty law, the country's most divisive piece of legislation of recent decades. The ruling is expected to settle a fierce public argument over the law's technical soundness, although it is unlikely to calm political tensions surrounding it. The amnesty law of 2024 sought to withdraw pending legal action against Catalan political leaders who had made a failed secession attempt from Spain in 2017, as well as hundreds of activists who had supported the same cause. The most high-profile intended beneficiary was former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont , who has been living in self-imposed exile in Belgium. The law secured for the Socialist prime minister Pedro Sánchez the support of Catalan nationalists to keep his left-wing coalition government afloat. He points to the improved political climate in Catalonia, where independence is no longer a live issue, as proof that the policy of engagement has paid dividends. However, the law has also been at the heart of attacks on Sánchez by the opposition, which has cast it as a legally unsound, cynical ploy by the prime minister to stay in power. READ MORE The constitutional court will now consider an appeal lodged against the law by the opposition conservative People's Party (PP). The stridently unionist PP alleged that the legislation breached the constitution by being an arbitrary measure that was the result of a dubious political transaction. The tribunal's ruling is expected later this month, although leaks from a preliminary report it has published in advance of the debate strongly suggest it will reject such objections and broadly endorse the law, while introducing some minor changes. 'The interpretation [of the law] made by the People's Party is incompatible with a constitution that is open, inherent to the democratic state and political pluralism,' reads the leaked document. It adds that the legislature 'can do anything that is not explicitly prohibited by the constitution', which is the case with the amnesty. The report also dismisses the PP's claim that the political backdrop to the legislation undermined its legitimacy. Oriol Junqueras, leader of the Catalan Republican Left, remains barred from public office as he waits to be amnestied. Photograph: Josep Lago/AFP Oriol Junqueras, leader of the Catalan Republican Left (ERC), who remains barred from public office as he waits to be amnestied, described the development as 'another step along a path that is always too long'. He spent three years and eight months in jail for his part in the events of 2017, before being released on a government pardon. The government has also cautiously welcomed this news. Digital transformation minister Óscar López said the administration has always known the amnesty was constitutional and that it 'has helped to normalise political life in Catalonia'. Culture minister Ernest Urtasun went further, describing the leaked report as 'good news which reaffirms the government's policy in the face of the judicialisation of [the Catalan] conflict and debunks the lies of the right and the PP'. Since its approval almost a year ago, 178 Catalans have been amnestied on the case-by-case basis outlined by the law, according to a study commissioned by the civic organisation Omnium Cultural. Another 49 pending cases have been dismissed and nine defendants absolved. Many of those facing legal action were civil servants who had helped the Catalan regional government stage an illegal independence referendum in October 2017. However, the same report also found that 158 amnesty requests had been rejected, indefinitely postponed, or simply had not been answered. Pedro Sanchez and his wife Begona Gomez: opponents say the amnesty law is a cynical ploy by the prime minister to stay in power. Photograph: Javier Soriano/AFP via Getty Images But while the strict legality of the amnesty appears likely to be confirmed in the upcoming ruling, the opposition's fierce response to the leaked court document suggests that its political combustibility is undimmed. 'Now they want to convince us that buying a government with privileges is legal,' said PP leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo. 'I say it's not. It's not ethical, moral or legal.' His party's spokesman, Borja Semper, suggested that the legal question was irrelevant. 'Constitutional or unconstitutional, it's political corruption,' he said. With the legality of the law appearing to be settled, the opposition is now placing more emphasis on its morality. Miguel Ángel Rodríguez, the controversial chief adviser to the PP's president of the Madrid region, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, appeared to equate the amnesty with slavery, female genital mutilation, polygamy and paedophilia, 'because they are not expressly prohibited by the constitution'. News of the constitutional court's anticipated ruling has been well timed for the government, which is being corralled by an array of corruption allegations. Investigations have been carried out into the wife and brother of Sánchez for alleged irregularities, although the government insists these are part of a right-wing witch hunt. However, another inquiry, into a kickback scheme in which a former minister, José Luis Ábalos, is implicated, is more damaging. So too is a scandal in which a Socialist Party activist, Leire Díez, was apparently caught on tape trying to gather evidence that would discredit the civil guard's organised crime unit, which has been investigating the above cases. A favourable ruling could also be helpful to the government for parliamentary reasons. Puigdemont's Together for Catalonia (JxCat) party has seven members of congress whose support is crucial for the stability of the Sánchez government. The relationship between the two has been turbulent since the formation of a new administration in late 2023, with the amnesty law a key part of their deal. Lola García, a political columnist at La Vanguardia newspaper, noted that 'if the Constitutional Court definitively supports the law in its ruling, the amnesty will be a political fact which will reinforce the [government's] relationship with JxCat and could open the door to a meeting between Pedro Sánchez and Puigdemont'. However, even if the constitutional court does endorse the amnesty law, its full application is likely to remain pending. That is because the supreme court previously ruled that several politicians, including Puigdemont and Junqueras, had benefited financially from the independence drive, disqualifying them from being amnestied. The constitutional court did not specifically tackle that issue in its preliminary report and it is not known if it will do so in its final ruling. The conflicting positions of the two top tribunals appear to reflect the political allegiances of their magistrates, with the PP controlling the supreme court and the constitutional court under the Socialist Party's influence. Commentator Ignacio Varela, writing about the left-leaning balance of the constitutional court, said it is 'the colour of the shirt' of the magistrates that decides their vote, rather than technical considerations. 'Polarisation has reached [the court's] headquarters and the militant vote is embedded there,' he said. Carles Puigdemont campaigns from his base on the French border with Spain. Photograph: Guy Hedgecoe Puigdemont's lawyer, Gonzalo Boye, criticised the supreme court for the same reason, albeit from the opposite point of view. 'The supreme court is in a position of rebellion which is incompatible with a democratic system,' he told The Irish Times. 'The judges in the top courts are tremendously ideologically skewed and refuse to apply laws which, ideologically speaking, they do not agree with.' Boye said that Puigdemont's plans are still uncertain, with his potential return to Spain depending on judicial developments. They include appeals against Puigdemont and others being excluded from the amnesty. Last summer the former Catalan president made a dramatic public appearance in Barcelona before being whisked away again across the border to escape arrest. Several members of the Mossos d'Esquadra Catalan police force have been investigated for their possible role in the stunt.
Arab News
13-03-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Spain closes Russia probe against Catalan separatist leader
MADRID: The Spanish Supreme Court on Thursday said it had closed a treason investigation against Catalonia's exiled separatist figurehead Carles Puigdemont over alleged Russian interference in the region's failed 2017 secession bid. The worst crisis Spain had experienced in decades saw the wealthy northeastern region hold a secession referendum and proclaim a short-lived declaration of independence whose aftershocks continue to reverberate. A judge from a lower court placed Puigdemont under investigation for high treason to determine whether he had contacts with the Kremlin or tried to gain Russian support for Catalan independence in return for financial compensation. The Supreme Court said in a statement it had 'decided to close the proceedings' opened into the 'alleged Russian interference in the Catalan independence process.' Spain's top court last year shelved a separate investigation against Puigdemont for a terrorism charge related to 2019 protests in Catalonia against prison terms handed out to separatist leaders for their role in the secession bid. Puigdemont has lived in exile in Belgium since the crisis and remains Spain's most-wanted fugitive as he was excluded from the remit of an amnesty law introduced by Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's leftist government to heal tensions. But his Junts per Catalunya party wields outsized influence in national politics as its seven MPs often determine whether Sanchez's minority government passes legislation in the hung parliament.
Yahoo
28-01-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Spanish government breaks deadlock with Catalan ally over broad tax, pensions bill, EFE says
MADRID (Reuters) -Spain's government on Tuesday reached a deal with the Catalan separatist party Junts to partly approve a broad bill of tax and economic measures in parliament, breaking a deadlock that has raised doubts over its ability to pass any legislation, EFE news agency said. The agreement could bode well for this year's budget bill, which is yet to be presented by the government. In the meantime, Spain is rolling over its spending plan from 2023, as it did last year. Government spokespeople declined to comment on the EFE report, which cited unidentified government sources. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's office said he would hold a news conference later in the day. See for yourself — The Yodel is the go-to source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories. By signing up, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy. Junts officials had no immediate comment although its leaders have also scheduled a news conference later on Tuesday. The original bill, which included an extension of a temporary windfall tax on energy companies, a pension raise and a six-month extension of temporary subsidies for public transportation, was rejected by the lower house last week. It was not immediately clear if the approval of the windfall tax was part of the agreement. Junts has previously argued that the levy impacted investments in wealthy Catalonia. The administration of Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez faces a balancing act in every vote as it weighs concessions to parties from across the spectrum with opposing demands, such as hard-left Podemos and centre-right Junts. Junts leader Carles Puigdemont earlier this month said his party would not support the government unless a "trust crisis" between them was resolved.
