Puigdemont to meet with secretary general of ERC in Brussels

The deposed Catalan president Carles Puigdemont will meet with the secretary general of ERC, Marta Rovira on Tuesday afternoon in Brussels, in order to discuss a plan of action for the December 21 elections.

Although PDeCAT, running under the candidacy of Together for Catalonia, and ERC have not formed a coalition and are presenting themselves in the elections seperately, Rovira travelled to Brussels on Tuesday morning to meet with Puigdemont. The meeting will take place later in the day.

According to ERC sources, the meeting is a show of respect towards Puigdemont, who still regarded as the legitimate president of Catalonia, despite having been ousted after the application of Article 155.

Election plans

ERC have said that the main objective of the meeting is to decide what course of action to take in the elections, called by Spanish president Mariano Rajoy in response to the declaration of independence, and to find common ground in the electoral programs of both candidates.

This will be the first high profile meeting between Puigdemont and Rovira in Brussels since the deposed president left Catalonia, but Puigdemont has already had several meetings with other key political players.

Last Friday, members of the radical left-wing CUP party Anna Gabriel and Benet Salellas travelled to Brussels to meet with Puigdemont. This weekend PDeCAt also held a summit in the European capital as well, with former president Artur Mas and Marta Pascal present, in order to decide how to prepare for December 21.