Ex-Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont has said he does not see independence as the only solution to the political stand-off with Spain.

At a packed press conference in Berlin on Saturday, Mr Puigdemont called for an international intervention to resolve the conflict that saw him imprisoned for almost two weeks until Friday.

“I think the country needs someone who can act as a mediator,” he said. “Today we are demanding that the Spanish government takes a new position.”

He accused Madrid of having an “anti-European position” and of abusing the “right to political participation” of himself and his campaigners, many now imprisoned in Spain.

Five months after fleeing to Belgium, the 55-year-old said he would make a new base for now in the German capital until a court decides on a Spanish arrest warrant against him.

Asked if independence was the only solution for the conflict between Catalonia and the Spanish government, he said: “No.”

Instead he called on Madrid to reconsider his offer of dialogue, after German authorities dismissed two of the three grounds for their European Arrest Warrant (EWA) against him

“I hope the situation could help ... Spanish authorities understand that political measures are needed,” said Mr Puigdemont. “This opens a new opportunity of dialogue.”

Mr Puigdemont said he was “shocked” when he was detained by German Autobahn police almost two weeks ago after crossing the border from Denmark on his way back to Berlin from Finland.

He was held on remand in a prison in Neumünster, an hour north of Hamburg, where he was treated “very well, professionally”.

“The days were very intense,” he said.

On Thursday evening judges in the northern city of Schleswig ruled Mr Puigdemont could be released on bail of €75,000 after they dismissed the more serious charge of rebellion against him.

He still faces a charge of misuse of public funds to finance last October’s banned independence referendum, which Madrid views as illegal.

The Catalan politician is not permitted to leave Germany until the Schleswig court rules on whether to proceed with the European Arrest Warrant (EWA) against him. He also has to report weekly to police in Neumünster and inform them of his place of residence.

For now that is to be Berlin, he said, “one of the most interesting cities in Europe”.

If not returned to Spain, he hopes to return to Waterloo in Belgium where he has lived in self-imposed exile since last October. “I would like to return to a normal life,” he said.

At the same time he insisted he would not give in to Spanish efforts to silence him, and called for the release of fellow Catalan independence campaigners.

“It is my duty to travel around Europe to explain what happened, what is going on in Catalonia and in Spain,” he said. “We cannot implement the will of the people because the Spanish government hinders us.”

In October’s vote, 92 per cent were in favour of independence from Spain, on a turnout of 43 per cent.

Even if Mr Puigdemont is returned to Spain on the arrest warrant’s corruption charge, he can no longer be prosecuted on the sedition or rebellion charges struck out by German authorities.

Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy said on Saturday he would respect the ruling of the German court.

“I have always said, and I repeat here, that judicial rulings are to be respected and followed,” he said at a conference of his conservative People’s Party in Seville. </s> BERLIN (REUTERS) - Former Catalan President Carles Puigdemont called on Spain to abandon its attempts to prosecute separatist leaders after leaving a German prison on Friday (April 6), urging Madrid to enter into dialogue with them.

Puigdemont, who was granted bail after German judges ruled he could not be extradited on rebellion charges brought by Spain, thanked prison staff as he emerged to cheers and people waving Catalan flags.

"I claim for the immediate release of all my colleagues in Spanish prisons," he said. "It is a shame for Europe to have political prisoners. Finally the time for dialogue has arrived." Puigdemont's German lawyer, Wolfgang Schomburg, said he would continue the legal battle to have judges also rule out his extradition on the lesser charges of embezzlement.

Spain's Supreme Court says it is considering consulting the European Court of Justice on the German court's decision to reject Puigdemont's extradition. </s> BERLIN, April 6 (Reuters) - Former Catalan President Carles Puigdemont called on Spain to abandon its attempts to prosecute separatist leaders as he left a German prison on Friday, urging Madrid to enter into dialogue with them.

Puigdemont, granted bail after German judges ruled he could not be extradited on charges of "rebellion" brought by Spain, thanked prison staff as he emerged to cheers and people waving Catalan flags.

He called for "the immediate release of all my colleagues in Spanish prisons".

"It is a shame for Europe to have political prisoners," Puigdemont said. "Finally the time for dialogue has arrived."

Judges on Thursday rejected Spain's request to have him extradited to face the rebellion charges for having organised a referendum on Catalan independence that Madrid viewed as illegitimate.

They set bail at 75,000 euros ($92,000), saying that Puigdemont, who fled Spain five months ago after Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy dismissed his regional administration, did not pose a serious flight risk.

Puigdemont's German lawyer, Wolfgang Schomburg, said he would continue the legal battle to have judges also rule out his extradition on a lesser charge of embezzlement of public money.

Since Spain has said it will respect the German court's ruling, extradition from Germany on the lesser charge would effectively grant Puigdemont immunity from the rebellion charges, which can bring up to 25 years in prison.

But a return to Spain under any other circumstances might not do so.

Earlier, the German foreign ministry urged Catalan lawmakers to form a new regional government as soon as possible, saying this was a precondition for making progress on a political settlement to the stand-off with Madrid. (Reporting by Thomas Escritt; Editing by Maria Sheahan and Andrew Roche) </s> A screenshot of alleged messages between Puigdemont and Comín broadcast by Telecinco on Wednesday.

Spain's Telecinco television channel revealed Wednesday a series of mobile phone messages written by sacked Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont to another separatist, in which he says it's likely all over for him.

The revelations, which Puigdemont did not deny, came as the Spanish government urged the Catalan parliament to pick another candidate to head up the region instead of the separatist leader, who is in self-exile in Belgium and faces arrest if he returns.

A Telecinco reporter caught on camera the phone of Toni Comin, a former Catalan minister who like Puigdemont is in self-exile in Belgium after the failed independence bid, while he was looking at messages sent to him by the separatist leader.

This reportedly happened on Tuesday evening, just hours after the Catalan parliament's speaker postponed a crunch vote to reappoint Puigdemont as Catalan leader, drawing an outcry among separatist ranks but welcome by Madrid and anti-independence parties.

The messages reportedly sent on the ultra secure messaging service Signal see Puigdemont considering it is over for him and that he has been "sacrificed" by his peers.

He also says this was all the fruit of a "plan" by Spain's central government.

In the messages, he hints that Madrid may have agreed to push for the release of separatist leaders currently in jail in Spain for their independence drive in exchange for dropping Puigdemont.

Reacting to the news on Twitter, Puigdemont did not deny he had sent the messages but denounced the privacy violation.

"I'm human and there are times when I also have doubts," he said, adding he would not back down in his bid to lead Catalonia again, contradicting the messages he sent in private.

Spain's Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria, however, asked the parliamentary speaker to open a "fresh round of talks" to get another candidate.

"I can't believe that among the over one hundred lawmakers in the assembly there is nobody who can recover the path of dialogue and consensus," she said.

Puigdemont's messages were apparently sent around the same time as he released a video in which he called for unity among the separatist camp and insisted only he could lead Catalonia.

He says he has the mandate to return as Catalan president from regional elections on December 21st which saw separatist parties retain their majority, led by his grouping.

Comin's lawyer will sue Telecinco for violating his privacy. </s> Former Catalan President Carles Puigdemont called on Spain to abandon its attempts to prosecute separatist leaders as he left a German prison on Friday, urging Madrid to enter into dialogue with them.

Puigdemont, granted bail after German judges ruled he could not be extradited on charges of "rebellion" brought by Spain, thanked prison staff as he emerged to cheers and people waving Catalan flags.

He called for "the immediate release of all my colleagues in Spanish prisons."

"It is a shame for Europe to have political prisoners," Puigdemont said. "Finally the time for dialogue has arrived."

Judges on Thursday rejected Spain's request to have him extradited to face the rebellion charges for having organised a referendum on Catalan independence that Madrid viewed as illegitimate.

They set bail at 75,000 euros ($117,000), saying that Puigdemont, who fled Spain five months ago after Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy dismissed his regional administration, did not pose a serious flight risk.

Puigdemont's German lawyer, Wolfgang Schomburg, said he would continue the legal battle to have judges also rule out his extradition on a lesser charge of embezzlement of public money.

Since Spain has said it will respect the German court's ruling, extradition from Germany on the lesser charge would effectively grant Puigdemont immunity from the rebellion charges, which can bring up to 25 years in prison.

But a return to Spain under any other circumstances might not do so.

Earlier, the German Foreign Ministry urged Catalan lawmakers to form a new regional government as soon as possible, saying this was a precondition for making progress on a political settlement to the stand-off with Madrid. </s> Fugitive former Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont has made a renewed call for Spanish authorities to open negotiations over Catalonia's secession claim, a day after he was released from a German prison.

Mr Puigdemont told reporters he hoped a German court's decision not to extradite him to Spain on charges of rebellion shows that "dialogue is needed" to defuse the political conflict in his home country.

"I hope the situation could help ... Spanish authorities understand that political measures are needed," Mr Puigdemont said at a press conference in Berlin. "This opens a new opportunity of dialogue."

The former leader left a German prison in Neumuenster on bail on Friday, almost two weeks after his arrest, after the Schwesig state court in Germany decided the charge of rebellion did not warrant extradition because the accusation is not punishable under German law.

Mr Puigdemont can still be extradited on the less serious charge of misuse of funds to hold Catalonia's banned independence referendum last year.

German justice minister Katarina Barley applauded the court's decision to free Mr Puigdemont on bail as "absolutely right" and what she had expected.

Ms Barley said it was now up to Spain to prove the other charges against Mr Puigdemont, which she said "won't be easy".

She said that if Spain could not prove the allegations of misuse of public funds, "then Mr Puigdemont will be a free man in a free country - namely in Germany".

Misuse of public funds carries a sentence of up to eight years in Spain, while a rebellion sentence can reach 30 years.

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, speaking in the southern Spanish city of Seville, said his government respects the decision by the German court.

He said his government "upholds and abides by" rulings by courts in Spain and elsewhere.

Mr Rajoy's position was not shared by the leading politician of his conservative Popular Party in Catalonia.

Xavier Garcia-Albiol said the decision not to extradite Mr Puigdemont could hurt the "confidence" Spaniards have in "European institutions".

Carles Puigdemont holds a bunch of flowers as he and supporters sing after a news conference in Berlin today. Photo: AP Photo/Michael Sohn.

Mr Puigdemont, 55, told reporters he would stay in Berlin until his extradition case is concluded.

If he is not sent back to Spain, he said he plans to return to Belgium, where he has established residency in Waterloo since fleeing from Spain in October.

The former Catalan leader was detained on a European arrest warrant after entering Germany on March 25th.

The issue of breaking century-old ties with the rest of Spain has divided the 7.5 million residents of the wealthy Catalonia region roughly in half.

Pro-independence parties managed to maintain their slim majority in the regional parliament during local elections in December.

The pro-independence parties have since been locked in drawn-out negotiations on how to form a government, with Spanish courts blocking efforts to reinstall Mr Puigdemont or elect other jailed separatists as regional head.

On Saturday, the speaker of Catalonia's regional parliament again proposed that jailed separatist activist Jordi Sanchez be elected as the new Catalan leader.

Mr Puigdemont also said on Saturday that he was backing a second attempt to elect Sanchez, who failed last month to convince a judge to let him out of jail to attend an investiture debate in the Barcelona-based chamber. </s> Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, is meeting today with Catalan premier Quim Torra in a bid to start normalizing relations between Barcelona and Madrid.

It is the first time in two years that a Catalan government leader has come to La Moncloa, the seat of the Spanish executive in Madrid.

The last such meeting held there was between Mariano Rajoy and Carles Puigdemont; the former was recently unseated by a no-confidence motion and has retired from politics, while the latter fled Spain to avoid being tried for rebellion after leading a unilateral independence bid.

The Madrid premier thinks the meeting is “a mistake” because the Catalan government is “run by fanatics”

As the encounter started on Monday morning, Sánchez wrote on Twitter: “We begin the meeting focused on taking a step forward to return normality to Spain, with respect for the Constitution and the trust that institutional dialogue will open up channels of understanding.”

Following recent expressions of goodwill from both sides, the meeting will test the limits of the current leaders’ commitment to dialogue. Sources at both executives admitted that the path toward a loyal and long-lasting collaboration is fraught with difficulty. And there is opposition to the talks among political parties across the ideological spectrum.

Before leaving for the capital, Torra wrote on Twitter: “Going to Madrid to explain to [Pedro] Sanchez Castejón the extremely serious situation the Spanish state has created in Catalonia. And to willingly listen to the solution he proposes.”

More self-rule

Torra is asking for a Scottish-like referendum, but Sánchez is not open to that option

Sánchez, of the Spanish Socialist Party (PSOE), has said that he is ready to consider further power transfers and investment in Catalonia, but is insisting on an agenda that will “take all Catalans into account,” not just those in favor of independence.

Meanwhile, Torra, who was handpicked by Puigdemont as his successor, continues to publicly defend the outcome of the illegal referendum of October 1 and the right to self-determination through a referendum similar to the one held in Scotland in 2014.

At his last address inside the Catalan parliament, Torra compared Catalonia with Scotland and called for the same kind of negotiated referendum that ultimately ruled out independence for the UK nation “We expect the same reply that [then-British Prime Mininster] David Cameron offered,” said Torra.

Sánchez is not open to this possibility, but sources at La Moncloa said there is still room left to win back some of the 47.7% of voters who cast their ballots for separatist parties at the regional election of December 21. Sánchez will insist that his own agenda is meant “for all Catalans,” not just a few.

The Catalan executive says that Sánchez is mistaken if he thinks that promises of new investment will be enough.

Torra is expected to suggest that specific issues of an economic and social nature, such as improved financing and power transfers over railroad and airport facilities, be addressed by dedicated committees and bilateral forums. The separatist parties Together for Catalonia (JxC) and Catalan Republican Left (ERC) said that even though there is no Catalan state yet, running day-to-day affairs in this way would be good because it constitutes “making a republic.”

Opposition

There is considerable opposition to the Sánchez-Torra meeting among parties with very different agendas. Center-right party Ciudadanos, which strongly opposes the secessionist movement, has asked the Spanish PM to cancel the meeting until Torra “rectifies” and “drops his intention” to declare Catalan independence, in the words of deputy Fernando del Páramo. And Madrid regional premier Ángel Garrido, of the conservative Popular Party (PP), thinks the meeting is “a mistake” because the Catalan government is “run by fanatics” and nobody should “make concessions to diehards.”

Meanwhile, the far-left, pro-independence CUP party in Catalonia sees the trip to Madrid as a waste of time: “Talking with someone who does not accept the right to self-determination is a contaminated dialogue,” they say.

Spanish government spokesperson Isabel Celaá said that holding talks is one thing, and demanding respect for the law another. None of the two sides would say whether the former will still be possible if the latter is not respected.

English version by Susana Urra. </s> The Latest on fugitive Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont (all times local):

A Spanish judge has rejected a petition from the country's prosecutor to ask Danish authorities to arrest ousted Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont.

Puigdemont arrived Monday in Copenhagen from Brussels to speak at the University of Copenhagen. He was to meet Danish lawmakers on Tuesday.

The trip is Puigdemont's first outside Belgium since he fled there to avoid a Spanish probe for his role in an illegal— and unsuccessful— secession bid for Catalonia in October.

Supreme Court Judge Pablo Llarena says in his decision that Puigdemont wants to be arrested overseas so he can blame on Spain his absence from a meeting of the Catalan parliament later this month in which he is the candidate to be sworn in as the region's president.

Spain's foreign minister says that "for the moment" ousted Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont is free to move in Europe outside of Spain, adding that his arrest was a matter for judges to decide.

Puigdemont flew Monday to Copenhagen from Belgium, where he has been since fleeing a Spanish investigation into the Catalan parliament's secession declaration last year.

Spain's prosecutors promptly asked a judge to issue a warrant for his arrest but the judge has yet to decide.

Foreign Minister Alfonso Dastis said in Brussels that "Mr. Puigdemont is subject to a process in Spain. Outside, for the moment, his movements are free within the European Union, but we'll see."

Spanish courts initially sought Puigdemont's extradition from Belgium but canceled that petition amid concerns that Belgium might send him back but restrict the crimes with which he could be charged.

The speaker of Catalonia's parliament has proposed former regional leader Carles Puigdemont as candidate to form a government, despite his status as a fugitive from Spanish justice.

Puigdemont arrived in the Danish capital, Copenhagen, on Monday to talk at a university there and meet Danish lawmakers. It is his first trip outside of Belgium since he left Spain dodging a judicial investigation into an illegal — and unsuccessful — independence declaration in late October.

Spain's state prosecutor is seeking his arrest in Denmark. A Spanish judge is yet to rule on the European warrant.

Catalan Parliament Speaker Roger Torrent says that Puigdemont is the only candidate with enough backing to attempt a government following regional elections last month.

Torrent says he has written asking Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy to meet and talk about the "abnormal situation" in Catalonia.

Spain's state prosecutor has set in motion the process to arrest Catalonia's former leader in Denmark, where he has arrived to attend a debate.

Ousted Catalan president Carles Puigdemont is scheduled to speak Monday at the University of Copenhagen and meet Danish lawmakers on Tuesday.

The trip is Puigdemont's first outside Belgium since he fled there to avoid a Spanish probe for his role in an illegal— and unsuccessful— secession bid for Catalonia in October.

The prosecutor's office says it has asked the Supreme Court to approve a European warrant for his arrest. It's unclear if Judge Pablo Llarena will grant it. In December, Llarena withdrew a similar order, concerned that Brussels would send Puigdemont back to Spain but restrict the crimes with which he could be charged.

The fugitive former leader of Catalonia has arrived in Denmark, despite threats from Spain to seek his immediate arrest there.

On Sunday, Spain's state prosecutor's office said it will reissue a European arrest warrant for Carles Puigdemont if he travels from Belgium to Denmark.

Spain issued a warrant for Puigdemont's arrest in November, but withdrew it after a month amid fears that Brussels would send him back but restrict the crimes he could be tried for.

Puigdemont is being investigated by Spain over a unilateral declaration of independence by Catalonia's parliament on Oct. 27.

He is slated to take part in a debate at the University of Copenhagen Monday, and Tuesday he has been invited to the Danish Parliament by a Faeroese lawmaker, but leading members of the government and opposition have declined to meet him. </s> COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Spain’s prosecutors Monday asked the country’s Supreme Court to issue a European arrest and extradition order against Catalonia’s fugitive former leader after he arrived in Denmark.

Carles Puigdemont flew to Copenhagen from Belgium, where he has been since fleeing a Spanish investigation after the Catalan parliament’s secession declaration on Oct. 27. He is due to attend a university debate in Copenhagen later Monday.

He was immediately surrounded by media, but he made no comment before he got into a car that drove him away to an undisclosed location.

His trip also came as Catalonia’s parliamentary speaker proposed him as a candidate to form a government despite his status as a fugitive.

It remains to be seen whether Spanish Judge Pablo Llarena will issue the European warrant and ask Danish authorities to arrest him.

Spanish Foreign Minister Alfonso Dastis said the matter was for judges to decide.

“Mr. Puigdemont is subject to a process in Spain. Outside, for the moment, his movements are free within the European Union, but we’ll see,” Dastis said in Brussels.

The push by the Catalan government, while Puigdemont was regional president, triggered Spain’s most serious political crisis in decades. Spain ousted Puigdemont’s Cabinet, dissolved the regional parliament and called the December regional elections as part of special powers invoked following the independence declaration.

He and his 13 former Cabinet members face possible charges of rebellion, sedition and embezzlement, which carry jail sentences of up to 30 years under Spanish law.

Despite Puigdemont’s legal situation, Catalan parliamentary speaker Roger Torrent said Monday that the former president was the only candidate with enough backing to attempt a new government following the regional election last month.

Torrent said that he has written to Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy to request a meeting to talk about the “abnormal situation” in Catalonia.

Puigdemont faces immediate arrest if he returns to Spain and, if he remains abroad, central authorities in Madrid say they will block any attempt he might make to be Catalonia’s president in absentia.

Rajoy has even threatened to maintain special constitutional powers to keep direct control of the region, a move that his government sought after the Oct. 27 unilateral independence declaration by a slim majority of Catalan separatist lawmakers.

Puigdemont was slated to take part in a debate at the University of Copenhagen on Monday. On Tuesday, he has been invited to the Danish Parliament by a Faeroese lawmaker, although leading members of the government and opposition have declined to meet with him.

Spanish courts initially sought Puigdemont’s extradition from Belgium but canceled that petition amid concerns that Belgium might send him back but restrict the crimes with which he could be charged. The judge might not re-issue the arrest order for the same reasons.

Associated Press writers Aritz Parra and Ciaran Giles contributed to this report from Madrid.
Puigdemont calls for the opening of dialogue with Spain.