‘Junts Pel Sí’ roadmap guarantees “no leaps into the void”

Barcelona (CNA).- ‘Junts Pel Sí’ presented this Friday its detailed roadmap towards independence. The cross-party coalition guaranteed that every step towards building a new Catalonia is “rigorously” planned and that there won’t be any “leap into the void”, in the words of the Commissioner for National Transition, solicitor Carles Viver Pi-Sunyer. Pi-Sunyer added that “it is a complex process” but went on to detail the steps to follow after the 27-S elections. According to ‘Junts Pel Sí’, the process will conclude with the composition of a Catalan Constitution. The pro-independence unitary list ‘Junts Pel Sí’ gathers together, for the first time in history, members of Catalan civil society, such as the Catalan National Assembly and Òmnium Cultural, and politicians from different ideological backgrounds that favour independence, including Catalan President Artur Mas and left-wing pro-independence ERC leader Oriol Junqueras. 

On front of its main members and representatives of the Catalan Parliament, ‘Junts Pel Sí’ presented the steps to follow after the 27-S Catalan elections. “We are ready both in terms of the legal aspects and the political strategies” stated Pi-Sunyer. He outlined that the roadmap is not a “fixed document” but one which can be “adapted to the changing circumstances”. Following this, he states that some of these circumstances were predictable and will be “promoted by those who are against the independence process”

The following steps

In the event of obtaining a majority of votes in favour of the independence process, the first step would be the solemn declaration of independence. This first stage “has to go along with a negotiation process proposal with Spain in order to start the independence process” stated Pi-Sunyer. He added that after that “we should address the EU to tell them that the process has already started and that our wish is to remain within the EU and the Eurozone”. After that, it would be time to start the constituent process, proclaim independence from Spain, draft a law of transitory jurisdiction, and call elections again. After these steps have been taken, a Catalan Constitution will be composed and voted on in a referendum. Indeed, Pi-Sunyer noted that “Catalan civil society has already started this” process

Negotiating with Spain

Referring to the relationship with Spain and the negotiations that would follow the proclamation of independence, Pi-Sunyer emphasised that “our wish is dialogue, dialogue and dialogue”. During the negotiations, major issues should be discussed, such as the frontiers, transferring public workers and key aspects of the energy policy. Catalonia and Spain would have to negotiate about their shared properties, assets and liabilities. The financial and economic goods and services, such as the Social Security Scheme, would be another major topic to be discussed, but all this process will be transitory and fully managed by the Catalan government once the proclamation of independence comes into effect.  

The roadmap’s signatories

On behalf of the Assembly of Municipalities for Independence, Charles Puigdemont remarked that ‘Junts Pel Sí’ ensures a “capillary action that no other political proposal has” because it has institutional support but also the support of the majority of Catalan municipalities.

Representing the Liberal party CDC, Josep Rull said that “the clearer the victory, the more people will be compelled to sit at the negotiating table”. Rull also declared that “this is about democracy, and when a people stands and uses the most powerful tools that exist, which is the legitimate force of the polls, this is an unstoppable process”.

Left-wing pro-independence ERC´s Marta Rovira said that Catalonia would succeed since “it will be able to generate tools that help those who suffer the most” and promote vital infrastructures such as the Mediterranean Corridor.

Carme Forcadell, former president of the Catalan National Assembly remarked that ‘Junts Pel Sí’ showed how citizens are capable of gathering together “when democracy, freedom, dignity, progress and the future of the country are at stake”.