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The Catalan President, Carles Puigdemont, called all members of the National Alliance for the Right to Self-Determination to a summit this Friday in order to find political and social consensus around the organisation of the referendum on independence to be held next September 2017. To achieve this, the National Alliance for the Referendum has been created, presided over by former Catalan Socialist, Joan Ignasi Lena. Representatives from all those political parties which support Catalonia’s right to decide, together with more than 3,000 civil society, business, cultural, sports and political organisations committed to launch a campaign to promote an agreed referendum with the Spanish State, specially oriented toward the international audience. Puigdemont called the meeting after finding that the Spanish Government’s repeated calls for dialogue have not resulted in any material actions. On the contrary, all the steps towards launching the pro-independence roadmap have been suspended by the Spanish Constitutional Court.

The Spanish Constitutional Court (TC) has backed the Catalan Government’s right to carry out foreign action but has dismissed the possibility of Catalonia establishing bilateral relations with other countries. The TC stated this Friday that the Autonomous Communities “can carry out activities related to foreign action” as far as they “respect the state’s exclusive competence regarding international relations”. The decision also emphasises that the Autonomous Communities are not allowed to trigger treaties, represent the State nor have international responsibilities. Thus, the magistrates partially admitted the appeal presented by the Spanish Government which claimed that Catalonia’s law on foreign action and the relationship with the EU was unconstitutional.

Spain’s call for Catalan leaders to attend the upcoming Autonomous Communities’ summits to discuss regional policies has not changed the Government’s plan for the meetings. The Catalan Vice President and Catalan Minister for Economy and Tax Office, Oriol Junqueras, have refused to attend the Council on Fiscal and Financial Policies (CPFF, going by its Catalan initials) this Thursday, citing other political commitments. Catalan Secretary of Economy, Pere Aragonès, will go instead. For his part, Catalan President, Carles Puigdemont, has already announced he will not attend the Conference of Presidents convened by the Spanish President, Mariano Rajoy, for the 17th of January. “Catalonia has won the right to a bilateral relationship as the demands of the Catalan people have nothing to do with the requests of other Autonomous Communities”, Puigdemont said in October, when he announced that he would not be attending the conference.

The Spanish Constitutional Court (TC) carried out this Wednesday its usual procedure and hand delivered the resolution notice which warns the Catalan executive of the criminal liability of launching the referendum plan. The document emphasised the magistrates’ duty to “impede or block” any initiative aimed at ignoring the TC suspension of the Government’s plan to call a referendum in Catalonia in September 2017. The notice warns Catalan President, Carles Puigdemont, Catalan Vice President and Minister for Economy and Tax Office, Oriol Junqueras, along with the members in the Catalan executive of the “eventual charges” which they may face. On Tuesday, the Parliament’s President, Carme Forcadell, and the members of the Parliament’s Bureau also received the same notice, which was hand delivered by judicial secretaries from Catalonia’s Supreme Court.

The support of 2 MPs from radical left pro-independence CUP, the main partner of governing cross party 'Junts Pel Sï', allowed the budget for 2017 to overcome the appeals presented by the oppoistion groups in the Parliament. Catalan Vice President and Minister for Economy and Tax Office, Oriol Junqueras, defended this Tuesday the budget for 2017. According to Junqueras, the draft especially focuses on “fiscal justice” and social expenditure, which he defined as fundamental pillars for economic growth. “We have many difficulties and many more are being put in our way, but it is clear that our economy and our society are capable of making it through”, he stated on the first day of the two-day session during which the Parliament will vote on the budget for 2017. “This is the best budget possible”, he assured in November, right after presenting the bill to the Parliament’s Bureau and emphasised the social orientation of the draft budget. Indeed, more than 74% of the total bill for 2017 is allocated for social expenditure and €1.1 billion more has been allocated for this purpose in comparison to the budget for 2015, which had to be extended for 2016.

The Spanish Minister for Health, Social Services and Equality, Dolors Montserrat, proposed this Tuesday during her appearance before the Commission of Health of the Spanish Parliament the creation of “Erasmus scholarships at a national level”. The programme will be named Cervantes, in commemoration of the fourth centenary of the death of the writer, and seeks to “promote territorial cohesion in addition to favouring the mobility of students”, Montserrat explained. It is a mobility project for students between 14 and 18 years old so that they can study the last two years of high school and the two pre-university years “in another Spanish city different from their own”. To be launched together with the Ministry for Education, the project “aims to promote knowledge of our cultural diversity, our traditions and languages”, said the Ministry in a statement.

Spain’s so-called ‘dialogue operation’ with Catalonia has had “zero” impact at international level. This statement was made this Tuesday by the Secretary General of the Public Diplomacy Council of Catalonia (Diplocat), Albert Royo, during the conference ‘Catalan Public Diplomacy in a changing world’. The talk was organised by the Federation of Internationally Recognized Catalan Organisations (FOCIR, going by its Catalan initials). According to Royo, what is transcending abroad is the “persecution of 400 Catalan elected officials being carried out by Spain”. “Until now the dialogue operation has not materialised and been translated into concrete facts, we neither see it in Catalonia nor abroad”, he added. Furthermore, he warned that with the dialogue promises Spain is “paving the way to legitimate future coercive measures [against Catalonia] at international level”.

The dispute between Barça and UEFA over the display of Catalan independence flags, ‘estelades’, at the Camp Nou is definitely on track to reach a solution. The international body announced an agreement with FC Barcelona to end this litigation. The pact means that Barça will drop its appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) over the economic sanctions imposed on the club, while UEFA compromises to establish a working group “involving both clubs and national associations to review the disciplinary framework” that nowadays prevents the display of political symbols in stadiums. The conflict began in the Champions League final in Berlin last year when a Ukrainian UEFA delegate, Anna Bordiugova, who was not in the Olympic Stadium, denounced the exhibition of 'estelades' after watching the game on television.

‘Nature’s 10’, the annual list which distinguishes the year’s best scientists according to the journal, has included Catalan astronomer, Guillem Anglada-Escudé amongst its names. The researcher at Queen Mary University of London detected the nearest known planet outside the Solar System which he baptised ‘Proxima b’. He put together a team and got observing time on the High Accuracy Radial velocity Planet Searcher (HARPS) at the European Southern Observatory as well as other telescopes that could double-check whether any promising evidence that they found was caused by stellar activity, which can mimic the signs of a planet. Within days, they confirmed that the planet was there; within weeks, they submitted a manuscript detailing their discovery. The planet, called Proxima b, has at least 1.3 times the mass of Earth and orbits Proxima every 11.2 days.

85% of Catalans are in favour of a referendum on independence, according to a poll published on Sunday by the newspaper ‘El Periódico’. Of all the respondents, 49.6% approve holding a referendum without the Spanish Government’s permission and 35% make it subject to the support of the state. Only 13.8% of the respondents are totally opposed to it. Regarding the result of the vote, “yes” to Catalonia’s independence prevails with 48.9%, in comparison to 40.3% against. The media outlet published this Monday another poll in which it points out that, in case of elections in Catalonia, pro-independence forces would maintain or even increase their absolute majority in the Parliament with between 69 and 73 seats. Currently, the governing cross-party list ‘Junts pel Sí’ (JxSí) and the radical left pro-independence CUP total 72 MPs, with 68 needed for a majority.

Luis Enrique was thrilled with his team’s performance in the 4-1 win over rivals Espanyol at the Camp Nou. FC Barcelona upped their game in the second half to claim a memorable win, and the manager was quick to highlight his players’ output, saying that the team played “at a very high level”. “We cannot get accustomed to what Leo Messi does. It is something unique and, here at the Camp Nou, it happens every 15 days”, admitted Barça’s coach. The manager also confirmed that Messi, along with Luis Suárez, Neymar Jr and Piqué, will begin their Christmas vacations early as they will not be featuring against Hércules.

Representatives from several pro-independence civil society organisations joined Parliament President, Carme Forcadell, on her way to the Court. Forcadell testified this Friday for having allowed a democratic debate on Catalonia’s independence in the Catalan Chamber on the 27th of July. Pro-independence grass-roots organisations the Catalan National Assembly (ANC), Òmnium Cultural, the Association of Municipalities for Independence (AMI) and the Catalan Association of Municipalities (ACM) highlighted the wide support for the representative. Indeed, the President of AMI, Neus Lloveras, said that the backing for Forcadell was a “demonstration of the unity and strength” of the pro-independence movement in Catalonia. The president of the ANC, Jordi Sànchez, deemed Forcadell’s prosecution “absolutely unjustified” and the president of Òmnium, Jordi Cuixart, said Catalonia is facing “a critical hour” and has to show “unity and firmness”.

The prosecution carried out by the Spanish justice system against Catalan Parliament President, Carme Forcadell for allegedly violating the law when allowing a debate on independence has aroused international concern. In Switzerland, a group of 15 Swiss MPs from the six parties represented in the Federal Chamber have called for their government to take a stance and express its “concern” over Forcadell’s trial. According to the MPs, which represent the six parties represented in the federal Parliament, the proceedings against Forcadell disturb “a country such as Switzerland, which is used to direct democracy”. Also this Friday, former Slovenian Minister for Foreign Affairs and MEP, Ivo Vajgl also admitted to being “worried” for the reputation of Spanish democracy and another Slovenian MEP, Igor Soltes, said that he considered Forcadell’s prosecution “scandalous”.

“What happened today is inconceivable in a truly democratic state”, lamented this Friday the Parliament’s President, Carme Forcadell. In a press conference soon after testifying before Catalonia's Supreme Court for allowing a debate on independence in the Catalan Chamber on the 27^th of July, Forcadell said that she considered her trial “another step” towards the Spanish State’s attempt to “violate the separation of powers”. Thus, from her point of view, what is really at stake with her trial is “democracy” rather than “the political future of a single person”. As a response, the Spanish Government’s Spokesman, Íñigo Méndez de Vigo warned that “saying that justice is not independent in the Spanish State is not only false but unfair towards the judges” and emphasised that “there is no impunity in Spain”.

The Parliament’s President, Carme Forcadell, testified before the Court this Friday for having allowed a democratic debate on Catalonia’s independence in the Catalan Chamber on the 27th of July. The Spanish Constitutional Court considered illegal her decision to do so and accused her of disobedience and perversion of justice. Forcadell’s prosecution has produced a huge political and civil response not only in Catalonia but throughout many countries in Europe. The institutional support for the Parliament’s President was made clear this morning, when the Catalan President, Carles Puigdemont, together with the whole Catalan executive, members from radical left pro-independence CUP and alternative left alliance ‘Catalunya Sí que es Pot’ joined Forcadell on her way to the Court, together with hundreds of mayors from all over the territory and former top politicians such as former Catalan President Artur Mas.