Puigdemont says Brussels win shows strength of independence cause

Winning a seat in the European Parliament shows the strength of his project from exile, said president Carles Puigdemont, who also stated that the victory was the result of a “winning strategy” of the independence movement. Puigdemont also said the result was a testament to the “persistence” of the efforts towards independence, and pointed to the defeat of Spanish foreign minister and unionist, Josep Borrell, calling on him to listen to “the voice of the October 1 referendum.”

Puigdemont’s Lliures per Europa ticket got the most votes in Catalonia, some 950,000, winning two seats in the European Parliament, which will be taken up by Puigdemont and his former minister, Toni Comín.

Another former minister and councilor-elect in Barcelona, Elsa Artadi, commented on the exiled Puigdemont and jailed Oriol Junqueras winning seats in the European Parliament, warning Spain that it can “no longer hide the disgrace of its repression.”