A Spanish judge has not yet issued a European arrest warrant for ousted Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont and would most likely do so on Friday, a senior court source said on Thursday.<br /><br />Puigdemont’s Belgian lawyer had previously said the warrant had already been issued. The reason for the differing accounts was not immediately clear.<br /><br />In place since 2004, the European arrest warrant system makes it easier for EU countries to demand the extradition from other EU states of people wanted for crimes.<br /><br />EU nations issue thousands of the warrants each year.<br /><br />Euronews asked Spanish Supreme Court Prosecutor Salvador Viada how it works,<br /><br />“We know, accept and consider as our own the actions of the courts of other European Union countries and they do the same with ours.” he said. <br /><br />“So when a judge issues an arrest warrant against a person in the EU, this mechanism… is put in place. And in a short period established by the European norm -sixty days extendable by another month… I think the matter should be settled in that time.”<br /><br />The former Catalan premier said he would only return to Spain if he received “guarantees of a fair trial” https://t.co/V6IRXlD3mH— El País in English (@elpaisinenglish) 2 novembre 2017<br /><br />But obstacles can arise. Belgium follows a set of procedural steps for extradition under the European arrest warrant but it could be blocked, for instance, on human rights grounds, <br /><br />And the definition of rebellion, one of the charges facing Puigdemont, is not the same in all EU countries.<br /><br />Viada explained that while some accusations are straightforward, there are other elements that do not appear in the set of crimes automatically covered by extradition. <br /><br />“Comparisons must be made with Belgian national law to assess whether ….the crime being alleged in Spain also exists in Belgium in some way,” he said. <br /><br />“In terms of implementation, it works. The system works because there is confidence that countries respect the rule of law.”<br /><br />EU reactions to Spanish crisis in Catalonia signal uncertain approach https://t.co/vJCB3S54gl pic.twitter.com/pm4UfmI5EM— The Local Spain (@TheLocalSpain) 1 novembre 2017<br /><br />with Reuters<br />
