Puigdemont eyes return to Catalonia after nine years in exile

Former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont says he wants to "immerse himself in today's Catalonia" as soon as he returns from exile, if he is able to do so.

Whether he can return, he says, "remains to be seen," according to an interview with British newspaper The Sunday Times published on Sunday.

The Junts leader said he wants to "be among the people" and "smell, touch, and feel" the country when he sets foot there again, because "Catalonia is not the same" as it was when he left nine years ago.

Puigdemont said he has "two or three scenarios" in mind for his first steps in the event of a return, but gave no further details.

During the interview, he said that when he left for Belgium he was prepared to spend the rest of his life in exile, and that he remains prepared to do so.

Amnesty decision pending

Earlier this month, Spanish Supreme Court judge Pablo Llarena rejected Puigdemont and former minister Toni Comín's request to have Spain's amnesty law applied to them for the offence of misappropriation of public funds.

The request was made following a ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in July that said Spain's amnesty law covering the Catalan independence push was not contrary to EU law.

Llarena agreed that the European court ruled out any impact on the EU's financial interests but argued that it did not alter the argument concerning personal financial benefit.

The judge also noted that Spain's Constitutional Court has not yet ruled on the issue, grounds which he continues to cite for excluding the application of the amnesty law in cases of misappropriation of public funds.