catalan government

“It is not a crime to speak up, discuss, and vote in a parliament,” said Carme Forcadell, President of the Catalan Parliament, in a press conference this Monday after testifying before the High Court. She and four members of her Bureau are facing charges for disobedience for not stopping a vote on a unilateral independence referendum in the Catalan chamber. Forcadell insisted that her Bureau will not bend before “those who want to restrict the freedom of a democratic parliament”. She also accused the High Court of violating the principle of parliamentary immunity when its obligation is to guarantee the right of elected representatives to debate freely and to vote in order to exercise their duties. On the other hand, the Bureau’s First Secretary, Anna Simó, representative of the Catalan Republican Left (ERC) who was also summoned before the judge this Monday, argued that no court can prohibit a debate in Parliament on the issues that citizens are concerned about.

The President of the Catalan Parliament, Carme Forcadell, and her First Secretary, Anna Simó, have been summoned before the High Court this Monday for allowing a debate on independence plans in the Catalan Parliament. The Catalan President, Carles Puigdemont, members of the Catalan Executive and Parliament as well as representatives of numerous civil organizations and mayors of Catalan towns accompanied the two elected representatives to the High Court in Barcelona. Big crowds of citizens also demonstrated in front of the Court under the motto “You’ll Never Walk Alone”. Forcadell says the case against her and the rest of the Parliament Bureau is unprecedented and endangers “free debate in Parliament”.

Catalonia’s president, Carles Puigdemont, encouraged the business sector on Wednesday to break “the status quo” in Spain in order to “survive”. In a speech in a business forum in Girona, he argued that the only alternative to independence “is decay”. Puigdemont stressed that when the Spanish government boycotts Catalan business missions abroad or does not invest in infrastructures such as the Mediterranean corridor “it is setting traps for itself and not for the independence process”, because it also “abandons the companies that are not in favor of independence”. Therefore, the Catalan president urged the economic sector to turn towards Europe and to have confidence in its “pragmatism”, suggesting the EU would welcome an independent Catalonia as a member. Carles Puigdemont closed the event titled "Entrepreneurs want to know”, organized by the business group "We believe in Catalonia". During his speech, Catalonia’s president presented numbers to back up the claims of the economic boost that an independent Catalonia would enjoy and he insisted that the country is attracting foreign investments.

The Catalan Government is taking the first steps to buying the ballot boxes for the independence referendum, CNA has learned. The executive is about to publish an announcement in the Catalan Government Official Journal that invites companies to bid to supply the ballot boxes. Catalonia is expected to need 8,000 ballot boxes for its independence referendum, which the government wants to celebrate in the autumn with or without permission from the Spanish State. Companies will have 15 days to show their interest in providing the ballot boxes once the offer is officially published, something that is expected to happen in the next few days. According to the Catalan Vice President, Oriol Junqueras, buying the ballot boxes shows the government's “commitment” to the referendum.

Around 600 jurists signed a manifesto in favor of holding a referendum on independence in Catalonia in accordance with the Spanish government. The signers of the text, which was presented on Wednesday at the Bar Association, gave “full support” to the celebration of such a vote. Furthermore, they stated that the referendum is “legitimate and legal” and that “it fits” within the Spanish Constitution. They also warned that “continuous opposition” from Madrid to coming to an agreement about the referendum justifies “other options” for Catalonia’s citizens to be able to express themselves on how they want to decide their future. Catalonia's Minister of Justice, Carles Mundó, was also present at the signing of the manifesto.

The Catalan economy is getting stronger, according to the latest growth figures published on Thursday by the Catalan Ministry of Economy and the Office of Statistics (IDESCAT). Catalan GDP grew 0.7% between January and March, a 0.2% increase in comparison with the two previous quarters. The labor market is also improving, with April figures showing the largest decrease in unemployment in that month in 21 years. With 425,751 people without jobs, Catalonia is reaching the pre-crisis levels of unemployment. The official data shows that unemployment fell by 4.54% between March and April 2017, and by 12% year-on-year.

Inés Arrimadas, leader of Ciutadans, the main opposition party in the Catalan Parliament, considers the plan of the governing pro-independence coalition Junts pel Sí (Together for Yes) and the radical left CUP (Popular Unity Candidacy) to declare independence “in one day and without a debate” as an insult to Catalans. In an interview with the CNA she insisted that “everyone knows” the independence vote “is not going to take place”. According to Arrimadas, the leaders of the pro-independence groups are waiting to see who ends up being “the black sheep” and what the excuse will be when the referendum fails to be carried out. Therefore she considers the independence process in Catalonia “a vicious circle”. The leader of the opposition party took advantage of the opportunity to attack the recently approved legal reform that allows an “express disconnection”, and that first passed parliamentary procedures despite the opposition’s disapproval.

The ports of Barcelona and Miami have signed a deal to increase the quantity of cruises and cargo traffic. The agreement looks to exchange information in order to improve the areas of mobility, security, maritime management, and environment. Thanks to this collaboration, Miami, the most important port when it comes to cruises, and Barcelona, Europe’s leading cruise port, will strengthen their ties. The agreement was signed during the trip of Catalonia's vice-president and minister of economy, Oriol Junqueras, to the United States, which began on Monday. According to the Catalan delegation, the Spanish consul in Miami tried to interfere with the agenda and the planned official events at the signing of the agreement. Cándido Creis wanted to force the text to include a reference to the “Spanish Kingdom”. However, this reference did not exist in any prior agreements between the two ports, and it was not included in this new one either.

The United Nations should ask Spain to respect the wish of the Catalan people to hold an independence referendum. This is the message that a group of Catalan civil society organizations sent to the UN Secretary General, António Guterres, in a letter published on Wednesday. “We want the UN to take a position,” said Beni Saball, lawyer and secretary of the Sobirania i Justícia organization. Pau Miserach, president of another of the signing entities, the Grup d’Estudis Polítics, added that the “supranational law” set by the UN “obliges” the Spanish government to “study, analyze, understand, and accept the Catalan reality”. According to him, “secession is not forbidden as such” by any international treaty and the Vienna Convention of 1969, ratified by Spain in 1980, recognizes the right to independence.

Following the advice of the World Health Organization (WHO), the Generalitat has approved a new tax on sugary drinks, “because of the effects these drinks have on people’s health”. “Its principal aim is to encourage a change in consumption habits” as the WHO recommends. The new tax goes into effect this May 1, 2017 and it supposes between 8% and 50% of the product’s final price, according to the trade association AECOC. Nevertheless, consumers will not start noticing the price increase on the first day, but “in a week or 10 days, depending on the bars’ and stores’ stocks,” says the tax office’s secretary, Lluís Salvadó.

The President of the Catalan Government, Carles Puigdemont, has announced that in the coming weeks the Spanish government will receive a proposal for dialogue and negotiation over the referendum from the Catalan government. The president said this during his closing speech at the Catalan National Assembly’s annual meeting on Saturday in Granollers. In comments to the CNA, government sources confirmed this will be the last proposal from the Catalans to Spain. In his speech the Catalan president urged the Spanish government to set aside their prejudices and to assume part of the responsibility, which is necessary to solve the problem. “We assume our part and to whatever extent necessary,” he added.

The Catalan and Flemish governments have decided to suspend a joint commercial mission to Morocco they were due to start on May 7. The trip, which was to be led by Catalan President, Carles Puigdemont, and Flemish Minister-President, Geert Bourgeois, was cancelled after the Moroccan government “unilaterally” decided that no political leader from the country would meet with the two presidents. Sources from the Catalan Government said to the CNA that Spanish diplomats urged Rabat to avoid political meetings with the Catalan government during the trip. Pugidemont and Bourgeois regretted the decision in a joint press release, warning that it will negatively affect “more than 30 Catalan and Flemish companies” that aimed to improve their commercial relationship with Morocco.

The Ombudsman of Catalonia, Rafael Ribó, presented on Friday the report “Regression of human rights: freedom of speech of elected representatives and separation of power in the Spanish Kingdom” to the President of the Catalan Parliament, Carme Forcadell, which warns of a “deterioration of the principle of separation of power in Spain”. Ribó criticized the suppression of “freedom of speech of elected representatives” and their “criminal prosecution”, which infringes “European law”. The Ombudsman denounced the criminal prosecution of elected representatives “at many different levels”, from local representatives to members of Parliament, and highlighted the case against Carme Forcadell and four members of her Bureau for allowing a debate in the plenary about an independence resolution.

The upcoming report from the UN Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances reaffirms the lack of progress in Spain when it comes to historical memory, justice, search and identification of Spanish Civil war and Francoist dictatorship victims. The text, which is to be approved at the next group meeting between May 8 and May 17 in Geneva and officially published in September, confirms that a vast majority of the United Nations’ demands presented to Spain in 2013 “are still pending”. “Regretfully, there have not been any changes,” said the head of the mission to Spain, Ariel Dulitzky, in an interview with CNA. Indeed, the only improvements the UN experts have observed are at the regional level. “In Catalonia we have already seen some advancements, which have continued after our visit. When taking into account the Spanish government’s inactivity, the initiatives at an autonomic level are even more relevant,” underlined Dulitzky in the interview with the Catalan News Agency. Over the last several months, the Generalitat has launched a program of identification and opening of mass graves, and another program on genetic identification of the remains, aimed at helping families find their loved ones.

CSQP (Catalonia Yes We Can), a left-wing coalition in favor of holding a referendum but not necessarily independence, says it will support a unilateral referendum if it has international guarantees. CSQP’s spokesperson, Joan Coscubiela, said that the Venice Commission, the Council of Europe's institution in charge of these kind of processes, has to endorse the referendum before his party can support it. Governing cross-party pro-independence coalition Junts Pel Sí celebrated this stance, saying the group “has taken a step forward” by joining those that consider the celebration of a referendum in Catalonia even if it is “without Spain’s permission”.