Sánchez turns down meeting with MEPs during Strasbourg visit

During his trip to the European Parliament in Strasbourg this week, Pedro Sánchez will not sit down with MEPs from the EU-Catalonia Dialogue Platform, which had sent a letter asking for a meeting with the Spanish president.

Sources in Madrid told the Catalan News Agency (ACN) that the meeting will not take place due to a lack of time on Sánchez's schedule, as the president will only be in the French city for one day, on Wednesday.

The same sources said that the president's agenda had already been "closed" when the platform's letter asking for a meeting arrived.

In Strasbourg, Sánchez will attend a session of the European Parliament, meet with members of the "Spanish community" at the institution, such as MEPs and civil servants, and hold a press conference with chamber head, Antonio Tajani.

"Lost opportunity for dialogue," says Slovenian MP

The head of the platform, Slovenian MP, Ivo Vajgl, tweeted that he had received no formal response to the group's letter, warning Sánchez that turning down the meeting would be "to lose the opportunity for the dialogue he defends."