Puigdemont to continue his official visits abroad in London

Brussels (CNA).- Catalan President Carles Puigdemont will travel to London from the 11th to the 13th of May as part of his official agenda. He will give the talk ‘Mapping a Path Towards Catalan Independence’ at London’s Chatham House, one of the most important think tanks in the world. During the event, the Catalan President is expected to “argue that the majority of Catalans now want independence” and “his government’s timeline for increased autonomy and, ultimately, independence”, according to Chatham House. Puigdemont will hold “informal and discrete” meetings with representatives from the City. London will be Puigdemont’s second official trip abroad, after having visited Ghent and Antwerp this weekend. This Monday, Puigdemont travelled to Brussels to meet with the leader of the ALDE Party, Hans Van Baalen.

At Chatham House, Puigdemont “will discuss the social, political and economic drivers” of the pro-independence movement, as well as “how the process can advance in the face of the Spanish Constitutional Court rulings” which have repeatedly considered it “unlawful” and also in view of Madrid’s “refusal to engage in dialogue on the subject”, specified the think tank. He will also explore the implications for Catalonia, for Spain and for the EU should the region secede.

He will also “outline his government’s timeline for increased autonomy and, ultimately, independence”. Catalan Minister for Foreign Affairs, Raül Romeva, will join Puigdemont on his trip, during which he also plans to hold meetings with representatives from the City. Indeed, Romeva already visited London last week and met with MPs in Westminster.

During his trip to Flanders, Puigdemont met the Mayor of Antwerp, Bart De Wever, the minister-President, Geert Bourgeois, and the president of the Belgium Federal Parliament, Siegfried Bracke. In Brussels, he had an exchange of views with the president of the Liberal ALDE Party Hans Van Baalen.