poster depecting Catalonia's jailed former Vice President Oriol Junqueras | Josep Lago/AFP via Getty Images Parliament to recognize jailed Catalan separatist as MEP next week Former regional leader Carles Puigdemont will also officially be able to take his seat.

The European Parliament will officially recognize jailed Catalan separatist leader Oriol Junqueras and two other regional politicians as MEPs next week following an EU court decision — eight months after they were elected.

The three former regional leaders won seats in last year’s European Parliament election, but whether they can in fact be recognized as MEPs has been the subject of a legal dispute due to their role in a 2017 independence referendum declared illegal in Spain.

Junqueras, Catalonia’s former vice president, was in jail pending trial over the separatist push following the European vote and was not allowed to leave detention to take his seat. He was later sentenced to 13 years in prison in October for charges of sedition and misuse of public funds.

The European Parliament said in a statement Monday that it will next week implement a top EU court ruling from last month that said Junqueras should have enjoyed immunity as an MEP and been allowed to take his seat. The two others — former regional President Carles Puigdemont and ex-Health Minister Antoni Comín, who fled to Belgium in 2017 to avoid charges in Spain — will also officially be able to take their seats next Monday.

Whether Junqueras will be able to leave prison to join the European Parliament is still subject to a decision by the Spanish Supreme Court.

On December 30, Spain’s attorney general's office called on the Supreme Court to allow Junqueras to travel to Brussels to be sworn in as an MEP. But Spain’s electoral commission — which is independent from the government — declared last week that Junqueras should not be allowed to take his MEP seat, despite December’s EU court ruling.

Junqueras asked the commission — made up of eight Supreme Court judges, selected at random, and five academics appointed by political parties — not to apply its decision, saying he intends to appeal on the basis that it violates his rights.

Two of Spain’s main opposition parties — the conservative Popular Party and liberal Ciudadanos — have called for the Parliament to reverse its decision, urging the chamber’s President David Sassoli to respect the decision of the Spanish electoral commission.

“We will always defend the Spanish institutions and respect for the law,” said PP leader Pablo Casado.

A tweet posted on Junqueras’ account with news of the Parliament's decision stated simply: “Nothing else to say.”

Catalan President Quim Torra also praised the news, tweeting: “Proud that both the Catalan parliament and the European Parliament have disavowed” Spain’s electoral commission. “Junqueras should have been free today,” he added.

This article has been updated with reactions from the Popular Party and Ciudadanos.