Who benefits? Spain, Catalan separatists dispute EU ruling

By JOSEPH WILSON
Associated Press

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — The European Union’s top court has issued a ruling that allows Spain to make another attempt to seek the extradition of a former Catalan separatist politician living in Brussels. Spain has unsuccessfully tried to get Belgium to hand over Lluís Puig since he fled Spain following an illegal 2017 secession bid for Catalonia. The Court of Justice of the EU, based in Luxembourg, now says that a EU country can only refuse to execute a European arrest warrant if a judge determines that the other member’s judiciary suffers “systemic or generalized deficiencies.” Puig celebrated the ruling since he argues that Spain persecutes his cause. Spain’s government on Tuesday said the ruling backs the position of Spain’s Supreme Court.