For now, Spanish courts must interpret and apply the EU ruling
MADRID – The Court of Justice of the EU on Thursday backed the legality of the controversial Spanish Amnesty Law, but the ruling does not immediately clear the way for Carles Puigdemont’s return.
In a highly anticipated ruling revealed on Thursday, the European court backed the law approved by Spanish lawmakers in 2024 to pardon hundreds of Catalan pro-independence politicians and activists involved in the unilateral and illegal 2017 separatist referendum.
Questions raised by Spanish courts to the CJEU sought to assess whether the amnesty covering embezzlement and terrorism charges violated EU law.
Dozens of Catalan separatist leaders, including the former regional president of Catalonia Carles Puigdemont – who has lived in Belgium since 2017 – have either been convicted or remain accused of embezzling public funds linked to the referendum.
