Spanish government ‘uncomfortable’ with Puigdemont’s trips

Foreign minister admits deposed president traveling around Europe “worries” the executive in Madrid

The Spanish foreign minister, Alfonso Dastis
The Spanish foreign minister, Alfonso Dastis / ACN

ACN | Barcelona

March 19, 2018 07:17 PM

The Spanish government is not comfortable with deposed president Carles Puigdemont travelling around Europe and focusing attention on the Catalan conflict. According to Spain’s foreign minister, Alfonso Dastis, Puigdemont’s trips around Europe, such as his visit on Monday to attend a debate on human rights in Geneva, is creating “a certain discomfort” in the Spanish executive. According to the minister, Puigdemont’s activity “worries” the government, although “not excessively,” he added. 

Puigdemont was in Switzerland to talk about self-determination at an international film festival and to attend a debate called ‘Regression of Human Rights in Spain’ at the United Nations HQ, among other events. However Dastis said he did not know why Puigdemont was in the country. The minister also said that the Spanish government had not taken any action against Puigdemont through its embassy in Geneva, and that as long as “there is no international arrest order, we will not take things any further.”