Carles Puigdemont, the exiled former leader of Catalonia | Michele Tantussi/Getty Images Puigdemont to return to Belgium and ‘political activities’ Former Catalan leader says he will leave Germany, after Spain drops its European Arrest Warrant against him.

Exiled Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont will return to Belgium to resume "political activities" related to Catalonia's push for independence after a monthslong detention in Germany.

"I will leave Germany on Saturday morning with my family," he told reporters at a press conference in Berlin on Wednesday. "My political activity is in Belgium. I will keep working for the [political] prisoners, for the [Catalan] republic and for a return to normalcy."

Puigdemont was detained in March by German authorities acting on a European Arrest Warrant regarding his role in Catalonia's independence vote, which was deemed unconstitutional by Madrid.

Earlier this month, a German regional court ruled Puigdemont could be extradited to Spain for misuse of public funds but not for the more serious charge of rebellion. The decision prompted Spain's Supreme Court to drop the European Arrest Warrant. The former Catalan leader can still be detained and prosecuted if he returns to Spain.

Puigdemont told reporters Wednesday he is certain it would not "take him 20 years to set foot on Catalan soil." He also criticized the EU for its willingness to welcome "states smaller than Catalonia" into the bloc and its reluctance to express support for the region's independence bid.

The former leader also reiterated the need for another referendum on the Catalan question, despite Madrid repeatedly shooting down requests for a new vote, saying: "We would really like to have a referendum like the Scottish did. The Spanish constitution does not ban referendums."

Puigdemont fled to Belgium from Spain in October 2017, shortly after the outlawed Catalan referendum.