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14 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 6 OCTOBER 2021 NEWS EXILED former Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont was back in Belgium on Monday after his ar- rest in Italy but said he had no idea of what his fate would be when he goes back for an extra- dition hearing. "I don't know" what will hap- pen, he told journalists as he en- tered the European Parliament, where he is a lawmaker. "It depends on the judges." He confirmed he would travel back to Sardinia for his hear- ing there next Monday that will weigh an extradition request from Spain. Puigdemont was arrested in Sardinia on Thursday and spent the night in prison before a brief court hearing a day later that au- thorised his provisional release. The 58-year-old is wanted by Madrid on charges of sedition for leading a failed Catalan bid to declare independence from Spain in October 2017, fleeing to Belgium to avoid prosecution. His lawyer in Sardinia has in- sisted there was no basis for his arrest, nor for his extradition. Puigdemont said his required presence in Italy "isn't easy… because it coincides with the plenary week" of the European Parliament. "But I will go…. We are ready to face this hearing." Despite a ban by Madrid, Cat- alonia's separatist regional gov- ernment under Puigdemont tried to stage an independence referendum in 2017, which was marred by police violence. Several weeks later, the ad- ministration issued a short- lived declaration of independ- ence, triggering a political crisis with Spain, and prompting Pu- igdemont and several others to flee abroad. Immunity lifted Those who stayed behind were arrested and put on trial, with nine of them jailed for between nine and 13 years. Although they were pardoned earlier this year, Madrid still wants Puigdemont and the oth- ers to face justice over the seces- sion bid. This is the third time he has been arrested since fleeing Spain. The first was when he arrived in Brussels, and the sec- ond in Germany in March 2018, when it took the courts nearly four months to return him to full freedom. Although he enjoyed immuni- ty for a time after being elected an MEP in 2019, that was lifted by the European Parliament in March in a decision upheld in July by the EU's General Court. The decision also affects for- mer Catalan regional ministers Toni Comin and Clara Ponsati, both of whom are also wanted by Spain. However the trio are appealing the European Parliament's deci- sion and a final ruling by the EU court has yet to be made. Ex-Catalan leader back in Brussels after Italy arrest Former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont is surrounded by media as he arrives at the European Parliament, where he is an MEP EUROPEAN Central Bank chief Christine Lagarde told EU law- makers on Monday that the re- cent uptick in inflation was likely to be a temporary phenomenon. A debate in the European Parlia- ment as part of the quarterly mon- etary dialogue with MEPs on the assembly's Economics committee took place amid increasing talk of inflation in Europe and the US. One of the questions posed by MEPs was whether the recent up- tick in inflation was temporary or a harbinger of higher inflation in the long term. Inflation rose steadily in 2021 and reached 3% in August. How- ever, if energy prices are excluded from the calculation, inflation is at 1.7%, which is still below the ECB's target of 2%. The ECB expects inflation for the current year to amount to 2.2%. In 2022, inflation should hit 1.7% and 1.5% in 2023, according to the central bank's expectations. Lagarde stated that the ECB's position is that high energy pric- es are currently driving inflation, temporary VAT changes and problems in global supply chains due to the pandemic. These fac- tors are expected to dissipate next year, said the ECB presi- dent. Four of the five reports delivered to the Economics committee by the Monetary Expert Panel expect inflationary pressure to be tempo- rary. Nevertheless, many MEPs ex- pressed concern about the rise in inflation. Renew's Luis Gari- cano referred to a steep increase in industrial prices in Spain. At the same time, Michiel Hoo- geveen of the European Con- servatives and Reformists group blamed rising house prices in the Netherlands on the ECB's monetary policy. Repeatedly, Lagarde stressed the inflation target of 2%. "Both nega- tive and positive deviations of in- flation from the target are equally undesirable", she said. Financial Dominance Lawmakers also expressed con- cern that monetary policy might be increasingly preoccupied with the short-term concerns of the fi- nancial sector instead of focusing on price stability. This could lead to distortions in the market, they said. MEP Garicano stated that if fi- nancial markets started to expect being saved by the central bank after every downturn, this would encourage highly speculative be- haviour. "There cannot be price stability if there is no financial stability and vice versa", Lagarde replied. Basel III Jonás Fernández of the Socialists and Democrats asked the ECB president about her thoughts on implementing stricter capital re- quirements for banks under the Basel III agreement. The implementation of the new capital requirements has been postponed due to the pandemic. Some banks are now lobbying to water down the requirements, ar- guing that they would impair their global competitiveness. Lagarde, however, argued against a further delay to imple- mentation. "There is a point in time when action is necessary, implementa- tion is key", she said. ECB: Lagarde reacts to MEPs' inflation fears Central Bank president Christine Lagarde