ERC wants negotiations on political conflict to start ‘immediately’

Pro-independence Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya (ERC) has called on Catalan president Quim Torra and Spanish president Pedro Sánchez to set a date immediately for negotiations on the political conflict to get underway next week. 

At a press conference on Monday, spokesperson Marta Vilalta argued that, in order to show that the Spanish government is willing to address the resolution of the Catalan conflict, the talks between the two heads should be held before any other bilateral meetings.

Discussions on other issues were "obviously important" she acknowledged, "but first we need we need to make the promise to tackle the political conflict a reality.”

She argued that the negotiation table between governments should happen "as soon as possible," adding she wouldn’t be able to understand if talks didn’t get underway until March, when it had been agreed that they would start immediately. "Building a democratic solution is urgent." 

She pressed the Spanish government to “stop talking about the negotiating table and start talking at it.”

Meeting of pro-independence groups

Quim Torra, called a meeting between pro-independence parties and organizations at the government headquarters at noon, in which the president wanted to convey the contents of his meeting with Spanish figurehead Pedro Sánchez earlier this month. 

In addition, Torra defended that a mediator is the "best way" to ensure that the agreements with the Spanish government are fulfilled. 

The role of a mediator is one of the points of disagreement between government partners JxCat and ERC, as the latter believe not yet having someone in the role cannot be an "excuse" for putting the negotiation table off.