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INDEPENDENCE

Puigdemont walks free from German jail and demands dialogue

Ousted Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont called for immediate "political dialogue" to end the row with Madrid as he left a German jail on bail Friday after judges rejected his extradition to Spain on a rebellion charge.

Published: 6 April 2018 17:31 CEST
Puigdemont walks free from German jail and demands dialogue
Puigdemont walked out of jail on Friday. Photo: AFP

“The time for dialogue has arrived,” Puigdemont told reporters outside the Neumuenster prison, after he walked free on a €75,000 ($92,000-) bail while judges mull whether to extradite him on a lesser charge of corruption.   

“We have demanded dialogue for several years and we have only received violence and repression,” Puigdemont said.   

“There is no excuse for the Spanish authorities to start a political dialogue with the Catalan political leaders.”

The 55-year-old also called for “the immediate release of all of my (Catalan) colleagues”, who consider themselves political prisoners in the spat with Madrid over the wealthy northeastern region's failed breakaway bid.    

In a major victory for Puigdemont, the upper state court in Schleswig-Holstein on Thursday dismissed Spain's request to extradite Puigdemont on a rebellion charge over last October's independence referendum, deemed illegal by Madrid.

The judges ruled that the charge was “inadmissable” because rebellion — which carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in Spain — was not punishable under German law.

The closest German equivalent, the criminal offence of high treason, did not apply because Puigdemont's actions were not accompanied by violence, the judges found, exposing a difference in opinion with Spanish judges.    

But they said the former Catalan president could still be sent to Spain to face trial for the misuse of public funds to organise the disputed referendum.    

The German judges said they needed to gather more information before making a decision on the embezzlement charge, but ruled that Puigdemont could be released in the meantime.

Madrid has estimated the cost of staging the referendum at €1.6 million.

If convicted, Puigdemont could face up to eight years in jail.    As part of his bail conditions, Puigdemont must remain in Germany, report to police weekly and respond to summons from prosecutors or the court.

Blow to Madrid

German police detained Puigdemont on March 25 as he was travelling from Finland back to Belgium, where he has been living in self-imposed exile for the past six months.

The arrest came two days after Spain's Supreme Court ordered international warrants for Puigdemont and other fugitive Catalan leaders on charges linked to holding the banned referendum.

The German court's refusal to accept the rebellion charge is a blow to Madrid, as under European law it means Puigdemont cannot be prosecuted for the offence even if he is returned to Spain.

Despite the setback, the Spanish government said it “respected” the German judges' decision.

Berlin, which has long expressed support for Madrid's actions in the Catalan row, declined to comment on the latest judicial developments.    

“The process lies in the hands of the justice system, as is right,” said German government spokeswoman Ulrike Demmer.    

“The government remains convinced the Catalan conflict has to be resolved within the Spanish legal and constitutional order,” she added. 

Flights to Europe

Catalonia has been mired in political crisis ever since the unilaterally declared independence on October 27th in the wake of the controversial referendum.

Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's conservative government responded by sacking the Catalan government, taking direct control of the region and calling early elections.

The December vote was won by a block of separatist parties. But they have been unable to elect a president and form a government as their chosen candidates are now either in exile, in jail or facing prosecution.   

Fresh regional elections will be triggered if a new leader is not elected by May 22nd.

Puigdemont was one of a number of Catalan figureheads who fled abroad to escape prosecution, dragging other European countries into the row.    

A Belgian judge on Thursday bailed three former Catalan ministers who fled to Belgium with Puigdemont after they handed themselves in to police there.    

Spain wants the trio — Meritxell Serret, Antoni Comin, Lluis Puig — to face charges of rebellion, misuse of public funds and disobeying the state.    

Another former Catalan minister, Clara Ponsati, was bailed in Scotland last week.

Nine other pro-independence figures are currently in custody in Spain, including six members of Puigdemont's Catalan government and the former president of the regional parliament.   

A major demonstration calling for imprisoned separatist leaders to be freed is planned for April 15th in Barcelona.

BEACHES

Why are Barcelona’s beaches disappearing?

Barcelona's much-loved beaches are losing between six and 10 metres of sand per year, but why is this happening?

Published: 16 June 2021 15:30 CEST
Why are Barcelona's beaches disappearing?
Barceloneta Beach. Photo: Pau BARRENA / AFP

Barcelona may be famed for its beaches and they may be one of its biggest tourist draws, but it hasn’t always been this way.

In fact, Barcelona didn’t used to have any beaches at all, just ports and seaside neighbourhoods. It wasn’t until 1992 when the city held the Olympic Games that these neighbourhoods were demolished and the beaches were created. 

What’s the problem?

Since 2017, the city’s beaches have been losing between six and 10 metres of width per year, according to a recent study by the Área Metropolitana de Barcelona (AMB).

This beach erosion means that every year there is less and less sand for residents and tourists to lie on and enjoy. 

This is not a new problem however and has been going on much longer than four and half years. In 2016, the Barcelona City Council revealed that since 2010 Barceloneta Beach had lost over 15 metres in width, which is equivalent to 28 percent of its surface area.  

In another 2016 report, the regional authorities of Barcelona also showed that its beaches as a whole had lost 17 percent of their total amount of sand during the same time period, the same as five football pitches.

Why is it happening?

The study attributes this to the fact that there have been more storms than normal since 2017, which has prevented the natural recovery of the beaches.

Storm Gloria in January 2020 in particular caused significant damage to the beaches in the area and caused even more sand to be washed away.

In short, most of this is to do with climate change. 

The beaches that have been most affected and have lost the most amount of sand are those in the lower Maresme region and the towns of Masnou and Badalona.

Barcelona beaches being destroyed during a storm. Photo: JOSEP LAGO / AFP

What’s being done about it?

The Barcelona City Council has been continually adding a little sand to its beaches each year and moving it around from areas that have more to areas that have less.

Aitor Rumín, head of the beach management service of the Barcelona Consistory told El Pais last month that “the last major contribution of sand was made by the ministry in 2010. Since then we have only lost sand”.

“It’s survival, but we can’t do much more. The beaches lose 30 cubic meters of sand per year, especially in the southern parts of each of the beaches. The coastline is receding and we have beaches like Mar Bella, Nova Mar Bella and Llevant, where we can’t do anything to regain the sand,” he said.

Badalona Beach. Photo: JOSEP LAGO / AFP

While moving the sand around and adding a little each year may help to cover up the problem in the short term, it’s not really helping solve the problem and a long-term solution needs to be found.

The Área Metropolitana de Barcelona have been trying to stop the beach erosion with their Resilience Plan, which will ask for greater contributions of sand to try and balance out the current losses and divide the beaches up with breakwaters.

In the case of Badalona, it has been proposed that 13,200 cubic metres of sand be added to the beach each year, as well as to rethink the layout of the equipment located on the seafront. The construction of a breakwater on La Mora beach has also been proposed.

In Sant Adrià, the plan is to build another breakwater, as well as to remove the jetty in front of the old industrial areas. The council also hope to add a further 95,000 cubic metres of sand.

It is thought that similar plans may be carried out on Barcelona’s other beaches.

Is this a problem anywhere else in Spain?

Yes, beach erosion is a problem throughout Spain, as well as throughout the world, due to climate change.

Theocharis Plomaritis from the University of Cádiz who was one of the co-authors of the Nature Climate Change study published in March 2020, told El Periodico that by the end of the century the retreat of the beaches in Spain and Southern Europe could be 86 metres, if no measures are taken to contain climate change. 

According to the study, in the best case scenario – with measures to mitigate the effects of climate – the loss of sandy beaches in Spain would be 60 metres and 27 of these metres by 2050.

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