Before the press conference Mr Puigdemont was spotted walking to the Press Club in Brussels but he refused to answer any questions.
Journalists in the room described it as “chaotic” as a couple of hundred reporters were crammed into a small room, and many left waiting outside.
His Belgian lawyer Paul Bekaert confirmed the leader was in the Belgian capital and would make a public appearance just after midday.
Speaking outside his office in Flanders yesterday Mr Bekaert said Mr Puigdemont was considering seeking asylum in the country.
He said: “We have not yet decided yet. We have a lot of time to decide.
“We will see in the coming weeks what we are doing.”
He added that the Catalan leader “didn’t run away from Barcelona” and had no intention of hiding in Belgium.
He insisted: “He is an EU citizen who has come to Brussels, maybe he has other political intentions when he comes to the European capital, but it is too early to talk about a diplomatic incident.”
Belgian migration minister Theo Francken described a political asylum request from Mr Puigdemont as “not unrealistic” and “100 per cent legal”.
But Prime Minister Charles Michel appeared to quash suggestions by asking Mr Francken “not to fan the flames”, and said an asylum request was “absolutely not on the agenda”.
Mr Puigdemont and five former members of his cabinet fled in a car to Marseilles yesterday before flying to Brussels.
Mr Bekaert, specialised in extradition cases and political asylum, was also the lawyer of alleged ETA member Natividad Jáuregui, who fled to Ghent.
Belgium refused to extradite Mr Jáuregui to Spain after three arrest warrants issued by the National Court in 2004, 2005 and 2015.
Over in Madrid, Spanish premier Mariano Rajoy has called a Council of Ministers at 6pm to approve “organisational aspects” of the Catalan elections on December 21.
Minister of Public Works, Íñigo de la Serna this morning said that the main task after rate elections will be to “heal the wounds” caused by Mr Puigdemont.