"Carles Puigdemont addressed a formal complaint to the European Ombudsman, Emily O'Reilly, denouncing censorship by the European Parliament and its president, Antonio Tajani, at a conference that the two democratically elected presidents of Catalonia were supposed to hold at the invitation of MEPs", a spokesperson for the Council for the Republic movement, which was created by Catalan pro-independence politicians, said.
The text of the complaint, seen by Sputnik, states that the meeting did not pose any threat to security and public order, and the decision to ban the event was "ideological".
The complaint comes after the European Parliament cancelled an event featuring Puigdemont in mid-February, citing "security considerations". Supporters of the politician, who is currently living in Brussels, eventually organised the meeting at a local hotel.
On 1 October 2017, Catalonia held an independence referendum, which resulted in over 90 percent of voters backing the region's autonomy. Madrid refused to recognise its results, but this did not preclude the Catalan parliament from declaring independence on 27 October of that year. This prompted the Spanish government to dismiss the regional authorities and impose direct rule over Catalonia. When the new Catalan government led by President Quim Torra came to power in June, Madrid restored the region's autonomy.