Carles Puigdemont | Salvatore di Nolfi/EFE via EPA On anniversary of Catalan independence bid, ALDE expels separatist party European liberals says the decision has nothing to do with ‘internal Spanish political affairs.’

As pro-independence Catalans mark the first anniversary of their failed breakaway bid, the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) Party voted Saturday to expel the region's separatist party PDeCAT.

Delegates from more than one-third of the ALDE Party — an umbrella group bringing together liberals in Europe — convened in Brussels for an extraordinary meeting and voted to expel PDeCAT, effective immediately.

"This decision does not imply any position of the ALDE Party on internal Spanish political affairs. The ALDE Party keeps its door open to any new liberal and democratic political movements from Catalonia that may want to join us in the future," it said in a statement.

PDeCAT is the party of former Catalonia regional leader Carles Puigdemont, who is in self-imposed exile in Belgium. On Saturday, he launched a new party — dubbed "The Call" — from there, AFP reported. The party will hold its first meeting this evening in Manresa, a pro-independence town near the prison holding several independence leaders.

The ALDE Party's proposal to sever ties with PDeCAT first came up in September, following an "investigation into the corruption conviction and the additional corruption charges" toward CDC, the predecessor of PDeCAT, according to Catalan News.

At the time, ALDE said the disaffiliation proposal is not related to the Catalan party's pro-independence stance but based on the fact that it is "engaging in acts that are contrary to the interest and the values" of the ALDE Party, and therefore, "its membership is politically no longer compatible" with ALDE's principles.

Puigdemont is expected to present his government in exile in Belgium in the coming days, according to AFP.

CORRECTION: This article was updated to reflect that the vote was taken by members of the ALDE Party.