Spain and Portugal Reel from Massive Power Outage as Fatalities Confirmed
At least five people have died as a result of a large-scale power outage that affected the Iberian Peninsula on Monday,
Former Catalan President Carles Puigdemont has every confidence in European justice, and particularly in the Belgian one, he said Sunday during a press conference in Geneva, where he was visiting, The Brussels Times writes.
He also confirmed that he was prepared to go to prison, should Belgium, his place of exile, decide to extradite him, and to hand him over to Spanish authorities.
“I have hope and great confidence in European justice, and in that of the European countries. I shall respect its decisions (…), for I have great confidence in the separation of power and in the guarantees of a just treatment, which I was unable to be granted in Spain."
The former Catalan President explained that he was not clandestinely in Belgium, a country to which he had fled in October with four former members of the deposed regional Government, and that he was “at the disposition of the authorities.” The Spanish judiciary has accused them of rebellion and sedition.
When questioned on the issue, Mr. Puigdemont says he is ready to go to prison. “Yes, since I have been at the disposition of the Belgian justice, and there is a possibility they might extradite me.” However, he did advise that, should he effectively find himself behind bars, it would be “a serious error, which would make the situation even worse.”
Moreover, Carles Puigdemont has confirmed that he had no intention of requesting political asylum in Switzerland, as some had speculated, and that he intended to come back to Belgium Wednesday, after his trip to Switzeland. “I am not going to request asylum in Switzerland, and I am not going to do it either in Belgium. I am not a fugitive; I stand fully within European legality”, he stressed.
President Rumen Radev’s recent statement that 18 of the 27 EU member states held referendums on their accession under the condition of adopting the euro does not hold up against the facts
Bank of Greece Governor Yannis Stournaras has once again voiced his support for elevating the euro’s role in the global financial system
Latvian MEP Ivars Ijabs from the "Renew Europe" group believes that Bulgaria’s plans to adopt the euro are a positive move, both for its citizens and its economy
Thousands of people gathered in Budapest on Tuesday in a protest against the government of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban
Austria will hold three days of national mourning following the deadly school shooting in the city of Graz
War is no longer a distant or unimaginable prospect
Borderless Bulgaria: How Schengen Benefits Are Transforming Trade and Logistics
Bulgaria's Mortality Rate Remains Highest in Europe