Yesterday's anger from Catalan MEPs-elect Carles Puigdemont and Toni Comín at being prevented from collecting their accreditation from the European Parliament has today turned into a formal complaint. Lawyers for the two Catalan politicians have sent a letter to the president of the European Parliament, Antonio Tajani, and another to the secretary general, Klaus Welle, denouncing the "discriminatory treatment" they received, whilst Spain's other new MEPs were allowed to complete the procedure.
As well as denouncing the situation, in the letter to Welle they ask for a copy of the list of names they say they were shown at the entrance with theirs greyed out, as well as any documentation relating to the matter. They've also asked for access to the security camera recording to show what happened yesterday afternoon. At the same time, they have sent a letter to the European Ombudswoman, Emily O'Reilly, to denounce the situation.
The European Parliament normally allows MEPs-elect to collect provisional accreditation so they can start work whilst waiting for formal confirmation from national authorities. Whilst others of the MEPs elected in Spain on Sunday were allowed to collect such credentials, former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont and minister Toni Comín were yesterday turned away. Now, also today, president Tajani has suspended the provisional accreditation of all Spain's new members following a request from PP, PSOE and Cs.