Catalonia's former separatist president Carles Puigdemont, who fled Spain in 2017 after a failed secession bid, and his ex deputy Oriol Junqueras, currently in jail, have been elected to the European Parliament.

It is unclear however whether both will be able to take their seats as MEPs.

Mr Puigdemont lives in self-exile in Belgium and is wanted by Spain, while Junqueras is behind bars as a trial over his and 11 others' role in the failed secession attempt in October 2017 takes place in Madrid.

Both are locked in a power struggle to take leadership of the pro-independence movement in the northeastern region. Mr Puigdemont's list for Europe was the most voted in Catalonia. Junqueras's ERC party, meanwhile, was part of a coalition of other separatist groupings in the Basque Country and Galicia in a joint list for Europe.

That alliance gained three MEPS, or 5.8% of the vote, while Mr Puigdemont's Free for Europe list took two seats with 4.6%.