BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Parliament has lifted the immunity of the former president of Spain’s Catalonia region, Carles Puigdemont, and two of his associates. The move could pave the way for their extradition back to Spain. In the decision Tuesday, 400 legislators voted for the waiver of immunity on Puigdemont, 248 were against and 45 abstained. The measures to lift the immunity of his associates — former Catalan Health Minister Toni Comin and former regional Education Minister Clara Ponsati — were by largely similar margins. They fled to Belgium in October 2017, fearing arrest after holding an independence referendum for the northeastern region of Catalonia that the Spanish government said was illegal.
