Follow-up meeting between Catalan and Spanish presidents confirmed

The Catalan and Spanish presidents will meet again in autumn in Barcelona, the Catalan government spokeswoman confirmed on Monday.

It will be the second time that Quim Torra and Pedro Sánchez sit down to talk since both men took office in spring.

Torra and Sánchez met on July 9 in Madrid, but this time the meeting will be in the Catalan capital, a proposal of Torra’s that his Spanish counterpart accepted.

No specific date has yet been set, but it is unlikely that it will be held in September.

"Bilaterality"

The Catalan executive’s spokeswoman, Elsa Artadi, believes it is good news for the relationship between both institutions and that "it shows respect for bilaterality."

Torra's team is seeking to negotiate as equals instead of Catalonia being treated as just another Spanish region.

At the July 9 meeting, the Catalan president asked his Spanish counterpart for a self-determination referendum, but Sánchez flatly rejected the idea.

Political conflict

Yet, the Spanish leader did agree that the Catalan issue is a political conflict and needs to be solved politically.

In an exclusive interview with the Catalan News Agency on August 1, Torra said that the Spanish government’s willingness to discuss the issue is already "very important" as it shows "dialogue can go ahead without preconditions."

But the Catalan president’s wish is that the conversations lead to actual "negotiations" on the future of Catalonia and to "actions, not just words."