"Mission accomplished." That was the verdict of lawyer Gonzalo Boye, accompanied by a photograph of Carles Puigdemont and Toni Comín outside the European Parliament where they had collected their credentials as MEPs.

This Monday lunchtime, after the Parliament announced it will "take note" of their election in its next sitting on 13th January, backdated to 2nd July last year, they collected their definitive passes as full members of the chamber.

In December, the last working day before the holidays, the two Catalan politicians had collected provisional accreditation. Now they are waiting for the Parliament's new president, David Sassoli, to announce their joining of the chamber. Both had asked to join the Greens/European Free Alliance group.

El president @KRLS Puigdemont obrint la seva bústia al Parlament Europeu (@Europarl_EN) pic.twitter.com/5oLVjPJseJ — Aleix Clarió 👨‍💻 (@aleixclario) January 6, 2020