Former Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont addresses a press conference in front of the European Commission headquarters in Brussels on May 24, 2019 | Emmanuel Dunand/AFP via Getty Images Catalan ex-leader Puigdemont denied access to European Parliament Former president was elected as MEP on Sunday.

Former Catalan President Carles Puigdemont complained he was barred from entering the European Parliament in Brussels on Wednesday, following his election as an MEP last weekend.

Puigdemont, who fled Spain in 2017 to avoid charges related to a secession referendum deemed illegal by Spanish courts, tweeted that the Parliament's secretary-general had given instructions to refuse access to him and Toni Comín, a former Catalan minister. Both men, who now live in Brussels, won seats in Sunday's European election.

A Parliament spokeswoman told POLITICO that the institution can only issue accreditations to MEPs "when they receive the national lists" with the names of those who have been elected, although the Parliament can choose to issue temporary passes for new MEPs "to ease contacts or go to group meetings."

In the case of Puigdemont, the Parliament spokeswoman said that the chamber "didn't get the lists from the Spanish authorities" and had "decided not to give him a temporary pass before having received those," indicating that ongoing political issues in Spain played a role.

In early May, a Spanish court ruled that Puigdemont and other former members of the Catalan government could run as MEP candidates after the Spanish electoral body had blocked them from running as they were not residing in Spain.

Ana Gomes, an outgoing Socialist MEP from Portugal, tweeted that it was shameful for Puigdemont and Comín to have been stopped from entering.