Catalan parliament to hold constitutive session on January 17

The Catalan parliament will hold its constitutive session on January 17. The president of the Spanish government, Mariano Rajoy, called the constitutive session on Friday, after talking with all political groups.

Rajoy also urged the next Catalan government "not to put Spanish constitutional order to the test," since “the quality of Spanish democracy, the rule of law and the independence of powers” in Spain “have been shown.”

According to the Spanish president, the new Catalan government must “act within the law” and must talk “with all Catalans”. Rajoy also warned the future Catalan executive that the Spanish government will not allow itself to be “blackmailed.”

Article 155 “defended the constitutional order”

Rajoy made his statements during a news conference giving his review of the year. Among his comments, he justified the implementation of Article 155 of the Spanish Constitution, which suspended self-rule in Catalonia as “defending the constitutional order.”

The Spanish president also told the next Catalan government not to continue with the independence process. While claiming that Article 155 had “defended the law, the social harmony and welfare of Catalans,” he also warned that secession would get “no type of recognition or legitimacy” from Europe.

Rajoy even suggested that the pursuit of independence would not have the support of most Catalans, and he warned the future Catalan government that it will have to talk with the “whole” of Catalan society and devote itself to “to reverting the economic and social effects from these past months of crisis.”