Formerly incarcerated independence leaders visit EU parliament in Strasbourg

Oriol Junqueras, Carme Forcadell, Raül Romeva, Dolors Bassa — all members of left-wing pro-independence Esquerra Republicana who up until two weeks ago serving up to 13-year sentences for their role in the 2017 referendum — traveled to Strasbourg on Tuesday as part of their European tour.

The recently pardoned politicians were accompanied by Meritxell Serret, who returned to Catalonia in March after over three years in Belgium to take up her seat as MP in the Catalan Parliament.

Romeva, who is a former MEP, and Junqueras, who won a seat in the 2019 EU election but was blocked by Spain from formally taking it up, were allowed to enter the European Parliament, where they met with Ska Keller and Philippe Lamberts of the Greens/European Free Alliance.

Junqueras and Puigdemont to meet in Waterloo

The heads of Esquerra and Junt per Catalunya are set to meet on Wednesday in Belgium.

This will be the first time Junqueras and Carles Puigdemont meet in person since October 2017, after Catalonia's failed declaration of independence, when the JxCat politician left for Waterloo and the Esquerra politician was imprisoned.