Ishaan Tharoor How Catalonia’s crisis is turning into a European problem By Ishaan Tharoor November 1 at 1:00 AM After helping engineer a political showdown that triggered a constitutional crisis in Spain, deposed Catalan regional president Carles Puigdemont did what many renegade politicians do: He turned up in another country. On Monday, Puigdemont and several other senior Catalan officials made their way to Brussels, the capital of Belgium and, more importantly, the European Union. Back home, he and a number of his allies face rebellion and sedition charges, which could lead to a sentence of up to 30 years in prison. Though Catalonia's secessionists have won next to no sympathy from foreign governments, they pinned their hopes on a romantic loyalty to the European project and its liberal values. Their cause is only creating headaches for E.U. administrators and statesmen. Puigdemont's presence in Brussels was already roiling the Belgian political scene, let alo
