The former President of the Catalan government, Carles Puigdemont, is no longer allowed to enter the buildings of the European Parliament after the Spanish judiciary issued a new European Arrest Warrant (EAW) against him on Monday. According to Spanish media, this arrest warrant is part of some form of cooperation between member states and European institutions.
The Parliament also prevented several Catalan politicians from accessing the EU buildings in October 2017 – when the first arrest warrant was issued. Three Catalan politicians elected as Members of the European Parliament in May are only allowed to enter the buildings as 'visitors.' This prevents Brussels from allowing Madrid to take legal action against the EU.
The representative of the Catalan government to the EU, Meritxell Serret, demanded on Tuesday that European institutions intervene to clear the way for political dialogue between Spain and Catalonia.
The Spanish Supreme Court sentenced nine Catalan regional political leaders on Monday to 13 years in prison for sedition and misuse of public funds, due to their role in the failed 2017 referendum in the region to declare independence.
The sentences are currently causing great outrage in Spain. The leaders of the Catalan separatists have called on their supporters to take to the streets in large numbers, which they are doing.
Former Prime Minister Carles Puigdemont did not stand trial alongside two other exiled Catalan politicians, as he fled to Belgium, which previously refused to extradite him to the courts in Madrid. Belgium did so because Belgian criminal law has no equivalent charge for 'rebellion.' Now, a new arrest warrant has been issued. It is still unclear how Belgium will respond. Puigdemont himself described the conviction as “a atrocity.”