Catalonia's former rebel president can return to Spain, court rules

What happened: Spain's Supreme Court upheld the lifting of national arrest warrants for former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont and former ministers Lluis Puig and Toni Comin, allowing Puigdemont to return after nearly a decade in self-imposed exile in Belgium. Key numbers: Referendum held in 2017; Puigdemont elected MEP in 2019 and Why it matters: The ruling ends a lengthy legal wrangle between the Spanish judiciary and Puigdemont, though Catalan independence is now a marginal issue in Spain, with housing and immigration dominating the agenda. It is still not known when he might return.

Spain's Supreme Court upheld the lifting of national arrest warrants for former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont and former ministers Lluis Puig and Toni Comin, allowing Puigdemont to return after nearly a decade in self-imposed exile in Belgium.

The ruling ends a lengthy legal wrangle between the Spanish judiciary and Puigdemont, though Catalan independence is now a marginal issue in Spain, with housing and immigration dominating the agenda. It is still not known when he might return.