Alfred Bosch takes oath as new minister for Foreign Action

Catalonia has a new Minister of Foreign Action. Alfred Bosch took his oath as minister on Friday morning, in a ceremony at the Catalan government headquarters conducted by president Quim Torra.

Bosch is replacing former MEP Ernest Maragall as minister, as the latter will run as mayoral candidate in the Barcelona local election.

President Torra asked Bosch to explain abroad “the serious threats” to civil liberties and rights facing Catalonia.

“You have a huge task,” added the Catalan president, who urged the new minister to work in close cooperation with former leader Carles Puigdemont and the other exiled politicians.

“We need to make the most of our voices abroad because the current situation is unsustainable,” Torra said.

According to the president, “every day it is more obvious in Europe” that the situation in Spain and Catalonia is not acceptable and “intelligent and efficient” strategies are needed to reverse it and protect the will of the Catalan people and their “right to self-determination.”

Torra said all Catalans in favor of independence are “constantly and systematically threatened” by a Spanish State that “goes beyond that and attacks anyone who dares to call into question the monarchy or the lack of separation of powers” in the judicial system.

Alfred Bosch is taking office as foreign action minister but, as with his predecessor Maragall, he has already made it clear that he considers himself a temporary substitute for Raül Romeva, the foreign minister incarcerated for organizing an independence referendum last year.

Bosch will be in charge of opening new Catalan international offices, a project that has been challenged by the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Bosch will also play a leading role in the bilateral meetings between the Catalan and Spanish governments, whose relationships have substantially deteriorated in recent weeks.