The Spanish Supreme Court refused to cancel the national arrest warrant for the former head of the government of Catalonia, Carles Puigdemont, who fled to Belgium in 2017 after holding an illegal referendum on regional independence, TASS reported referring to the country's judiciary tweet.

According to the tweet, judge Pablo Llarena refuses to request Carles Puigdemont and Antoni Comin to annul the national arrest and detention orders issued against them.

Puigdemont and the ex-adviser to the regional Cabinet of Ministers Comin were elected to the European Parliament (EP) on the basis of the elections held in Spain on May 26. According to the decision of the Central Election Commission (CEC) of the country, parliamentarians of the kingdom must take the oath as European deputies on June 17 in Madrid. If Puigdemont and Comin arrive in Spain, they may be delayed. If politicians ignore the decision of the CEC, they may lose their deputy powers.

Earlier, the newspaper El Pais reported that the EP suspended the temporary passes for all Spanish MPs after Puigdemont was not allowed into the building of the institute. This decision will be in effect until Spain provides an official list with the names of persons who have properly followed all the procedures to be submitted to the EP.