Demonstrators Call for EU Support of Catalan Independence at Brussels Rally

Around 45,000 people marched in Brussels, Belgium, on December 7 to urge the European Union to support Catalonia’s push for independence from Spain, El Pais reported.

The demonstrators gathered at the Parc du Cinquantenaire, where they chanted “Wake up Europe” and waved Catalan flags.

Catalonia’s former leader Charles Puigdemont also made an appearance at the rally. He traveled to Belgium with four former ministers in November after Spain charged them with sedition and rebellion over Catalonia’s illegal independence referendum.

Spain’s Supreme Court withdrew an international arrest warrant for Puigdemont and the former ministers on Tuesday in a move aimed to bring the case back to Spanish jurisdiction. Credit: Facebook/Albert Donaire via Storyful