Carles Puigdemont, former Catalan president, is to run for election as an MEP in the 26 May European Parliament election.
Puigdemont will head the pro-independence Junts per Catalunya (Together for Catalonia) candidacy, while his former vice president, Oriol Junqueras, will head the Esquerra Republicana ticket.
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The former head of the Catalan government, who has been in exile in Belgium since October 2017, announced it through his social media accounts.
‘It is time to make another step to internationalize Catalonia’s right of self-determination from the heart of Europe to the world,’ he tweeted.
It remains unclear whether either Puigdemont or Junqueras will be able to take office as MEPs in they event they are elected. Both of them face a temporary suspension as MPs in the Catalan parliament.
Spain’s Supreme Court enforced in July 2018 an article of the criminal code enabling for individuals facing rebellion charges and a prison warrant to be temporarily suspended from public office until the verdict on their cases is out.
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