The European Parliament has paved the way for the extradition of three Catalan MEPs who want to detach Catalonia from Spain.
Parliament lifted their immunity, allowing Belgium to hand them over to Spain. That country wants to sue them for their part in the 2017 independence referendum.
The then Catalan Prime Minister Carles Puigdemont and two of his ministers fled to Belgium after the referendum. They were then elected as MEPs. As a result, they received so-called parliamentary immunity or immunity, which prevents the judiciary from prosecuting them.
On Monday evening, however, the European Parliament voted by a significant majority favouring lifting that immunity. The three Catalans have already announced that they will challenge that decision at the European Court of Justice.