12/07/2018 (Agence Europe) – On Thursday 12 July, the Schleswig-Holstein provincial court of appeal approved the extradition to Spain of the separatist former president of Catalonia, Carles Puigdemont. The court based its arguments on embezzlement, not on rebellion. According to German daily newspaper Handeslblatt, the court explains that the Catalan referendum on independence (see EUROPE 11874), organised against the country's constitution, according to the Spanish central government, and not recognised by the Venice Commission (see EUROPE 11870) has cost the Spanish central state €1.6 million. The Prosecutor will have to decide whether to turn Puigdemont over to the Spanish authorities. Puigdemont can oppose his extradition by lodging an appeal with the constitutional court of Karlsruhe. The European Commission did not want to comment on a decision of a member state's judicial authority, and reiterated its full trust in the European arrest warrant. (PH)