Puigdemont seeks support to report Spain’s failure to build the Mediterranean Corridor to the EU

Barcelona (CNA).- The Spanish State “is failing to fulfil” its promises regarding the construction of the Mediterranean corridor and “Europe as a whole” will have to “pay the price for it”, stated Catalan President, Carles Puigdemont. Thus, to promote the construction of this long-awaited railway corridor and report the Spanish government’s attitude on this matter, the Catalan government will constitute a strategic board with Autonomic governments, chambers of commerce, trade unions and businesspersons associations. The Mediterranean corridor, which is set to transport freight and passengers non-stop from Gibraltar to Central Europe, is essential for the Spanish economy, as well as for the entire European economy. It would connect the Spanish Mediterranean ports, which are a gateway to North Africa and represent 50% of the Spanish population and wealth. 

The Catalan government will “take even more action” regarding the construction of the Mediterranean corridor and will constitute a common front to urge the Spanish government to take seriously its promises regarding this strategic infrastructure. 

“We want to explain to Europe that the Spanish state is failing to fulfil its promises and Europe as a whole will also have to pay the price for it”, stated Puigdemont. To make their demands even stronger, the Catalan President announced that he will promote the constitution of a strategic board with the Autonomous Communities involved in the project, those from the Mediterranean area, the chambers of commerce, trade unions and businesspersons associations.

In this vein, Puigdemont announced a meeting, to be held on Monday, between the ministers in this field from Catalonia and the Valencian Community. Then, “joint instruments to do “political and technical follow-up” will be discussed, as well as the appropriate procedures to dialogue “with the Spanish government and the EU”. 

The Euromed accident

Puigdemont also referred to the derailment of a Euromed train this past Tuesday in the south of Catalonia. Although the accident didn’t leave any injured, the service in the area was interrupted for more than five hours, which according to Puigdemont was “more proper of the third world”. He added that such accidents and the following consequences prove that the existing Mediterranean Corridor is “shoddy”.