catalan way

The negotiations between cross-party list ‘Junts Pel Sí’ and radical left CUP reached their deadline this Tuesday. The pro-independence forces have agreed on a 63-page proposal to start building the Catalan Republic and establish the legality of this constitutive process. Now the document will have to be validated by CUP’s base, which will gather this Sunday at the party’s General Assembly. “We are continuing with our democratic commitment” stated 'Junts Pel Sí' top member Raúl Romeva, who highlighted that they are following the “citizens’ mandate expressed in the 27-S elections”. Regarding CUP’s veto against current Catalan President Artur Mas, who is 'Junts Pel Sí's only candidate, Romeva emphasised that they “will instate a presidency rather than a president” and restated their proposal of “a collegiate presidency composed by a President of the government and three government commissions”. 

The negotiations between pro-independence forces radical left CUP and cross-party list ‘Junts Pel Sí’ to constitute a new government in Catalonia are continuing. The results of the 20-D Spanish Elections and the victory of alternative left coalition En Comú Podem in Catalonia and the good result of left wing ERC show that Catalonia is turning to the left, according to CUP. The party has therefore reinforced their ‘no’ to instating Artur Mas as Catalan President and has called on ‘Junts Pel Sí’ to propose “an alternative presidency which could generate a greater consensus”. CUP has also invited En Comú Podem and their partners in the Catalan Parliament, Catalunya Sí que es Pot, to join the “constitutive process of the Catalan Republic”.

Current Catalan President Artur Mas congratulated the winning list in Catalonia running for the Spanish Elections, alternative left coalition En Comú Podem and emphasised the coalition’s commitment to Catalonia’s right to decide. “We take Podemos at their word and ask them not to take a single step backwards” he stated. Mas admitted that Democràcia i Llibertat, the coalition which includes his party, liberal CDC, didn’t obtain the expected results, “we have been mercilessly attacked by the Spanish State’s powers” he said. Left wing pro-independence ERC’s candidate for Barcelona, Gabriel Rufián, noted that his party “obtained its best result ever” in the Spanish Elections “we have tripled the result of 2011” he emphasised. “Those who have been repeatedly ignored and who don’t have the support of any factional power have won the elections in Catalonia” stated Barcelona’s mayor Ada Colau, referring to the En Comú candidates, which were part of the En Comú Podem coalition. 

'Democràcia i Llibertat' (Democracy and Freedom) gathers together members from Liberal CDC, the party currently leading the Catalan Government, ‘Demòcrates de Catalunya’, the party which split from former CDC partner Christian-Democrat Unió, and ‘Reagrupament’, constituted by former members of left wing ERC. “The name symbolises what we are committed to doing: attaining Catalonia’s freedom through democracy” stated Democràcia i Llibertat’s candidate for Barcelona, Francesc Homs. “Our only instrument to defend our cause is voting” he stated “therefore, every time the ballot boxes are put out we will vote”. The former Catalan Minister for the Presidency assured that the international community will be following the Spanish Elections, but they will pay special attention to “what Catalonia will vote” and see if this vote “has a connection” with the political process that Catalonia is going through.

Left wing ERC is likely to obtain one of its best results in the 20-D Spanish elections, according to many polls. The candidature will be led by Gabriel Rufián, from the pro-independence association of Spanish speakers ‘Súmate’ and member of the Catalan National Assembly (ANC). “Catalonia has to be defended everywhere” he stated adding that “now it is time to win the elections of a neighbouring state which is rejecting any negotiations at all”. ERC and Liberal CDC, the two main pro-independence forces forming cross-party list 'Junts Pel Sí', have decided to run for the Spanish Elections separately.

PSC is the Catalan branch of the Spanish Socialist Party, a force which has alternated in the Spanish Government with the People’s Party (PP) for the last 32 years. Their influence in Catalonia started to decline in 2010 in favour of nationalist and pro-independence parties. Now the Socialists are the third force in the Catalan Parliament and the opposition party in Spain’s Congreso de los Diputados. However, many polls claim their key position in the Spanish chamber might be overtaken by alternative-left Podemos or anti-Catalan Nationalist Ciutadans, both running for the Spanish Elections on the 20-D for the first time. PSC’s candidate for Barcelona, former Spanish Minister of Defence Carme Chacón, is convinced that the Socialists are the only guarantee “to chase Mariano Rajoy out” from the Spanish government and restore “the dialogue” between Catalonia and Spain. 

The Spanish Finance Ministry transferred this morning 3 billion euros from the Spanish Liquidity Point (FLA) corresponding to Catalonia. However there is still 34 million pending to be transferred due to the Ministry’s “invoices checking” procedure. The payment of this 3 billion euros from the FLA comes after the controversial "specific and additional controls" that Spain's executive has imposed on Catalonia to guarantee "transparency" and ensure that “the FLA won’t fund pro-independence whims”, in the words of Spanish Finance Minister Cristóbal Montoro. The 3.034 billion euros assigned this year to Catalonia includes the 2.6 billion euros outstanding from 2014’s FLA, which the Catalan government repeatedly asked for in order to pay pending debts, such as those from pharmacies and medical centres.

Spaniards living abroad will have more time to vote in the 20-D Spanish Elections. Spain’s Electoral Roll Office has twice agreed to extend the deadline for the postal vote: first it was extended from the 12^th of December to the 16^th, and this Wednesday the Spanish bodyhas announced its extension to the 18^th. The aim is to improve a system which was described as “an authentic odyssey” by the Catalan Minister for Public Administration Meritxell Borràs when more than 200,000 Catalans whom were registered to vote in the 27-S Catalan elections couldn’t ultimately do so. This decision to facilitate the vote for the 20-D Spanish Elections contrasts with the Spanish body’s failure to do so for those Catalans living abroad who repeatedly requested an extension of the deadline for voting in the 27-S Catalan elections. 

Christian-Democrat Unió is the smaller party within the former governing coalition CiU. After the political alliance's break up, Unió is running in the Spanish elections "to represent all those Catalans who defend a moderate position" and believe "in dialogue and agreement" as the only "possible solution" to improve Catalonia's relationship with Spain, stated its leader Josep Anton Duran i Lleida. According to Duran the "pro-independence forces are tricking the citizens" in Catalonia, as they have "already reached an agreement" but refuse "to explain its consequences to the citizens" which he assured "represents electoral fraud". Catalonia's independence, besides being "impossible" will lead to "political and economic instability", assured Duran i Lleida and added that none of the parties involved and "of course not the EU" will accept the rupture of a Member State nor another crisis within the EU "like the Greek one but with greater dimensions".

Catalonia "won't get anything" from a reform of the Spanish Constitution, on the contrary, "it will lead to frustration" assured current Catalan President, Artur Mas. "It is nonsense to suggest that Catalonia burns itself to flames by promoting a reform of the Spanish Constitution" as it will lead "to a dead end once again", assured Mas. He made these statements in response to the Spanish Constitutional Court (TC) President, Francisco Pérez de los Cobos, who urged the Parliament to propose concrete modifications of the Spanish Constitution in order to launch their demands rather than doing so by breaking the law. "We know that the Parliament has the right to propose constitutional reforms" stated Mas "but now it is not about rights, it is about politics, real politics" he assured. Mas made these declarations in Paris, where he was attending the Paris Climate Change Conference.

London's Shard, in the Tower Bridge area, is Europe's tallest building. Its viewpoint, located on the 72^nd floor, opened its doors in 2013 and has offered a wide range of events since then: silent discos, winter experiences and in the near future a very ambitious project: a traditional Catalan human tower performance. "The image would be amazing" stated 'The View from the Shard's marketing head Anna Domingo. Although she admits that there is not yet a specific date, she declared to CNA that they are "working very tight" with the Delegation of the Catalan Government to the UK "to promote the Catalan culture also from here". In 2012, Castellers de Vilafranca, one of the most iconic group of Castellers, displayed a tower on the 20^th floor of a building located right in front of New York's Empire State building.

The magistrates of the Spanish Constitutional Court (TC) have unanimously declared the Parliament's declaration of independence unconstitutional and, therefore, invalid. The TC has considered that the agreed pro-independence proposal approved by the Parliament on the 9^th of November violates core articles of the Spanish Constitution, such as "the indivisible unity of Spain" and "the subjection of the public powers to the law" and also "attacks the Rule of Law". The TC has made its decision only 22 days after the appeal presented by the Spanish executive was accepted, which makes this resolution the fastest in the TC's history. On the other hand, the appeals against Spanish Government's abortion reform, led by People's Party (PP), are waiting for a resolution since 2010.  

Catalonia will be the only Autonomous Community in Spain whose part of the Spanish Liquidity Point (FLA) will be subject to extra control measures. "It is arbitrary discrimination" against Catalan citizens and the Government's suppliers, stated current Catalan Finance Minister Andreu Mas-Colell this Tuesday and announced that the Government will take the measures before the Spanish Supreme Court. Spanish Finance Minister Cristóbal Montoro justified the imposition of "specific and additional controls" to guarantee "transparency" and ensure that “the FLA won’t fund pro-independence whims”. Mas-Colell accused Spain's executive of trying to take political advantage of an "ordinary procedure between administrations" and urged the Spanish government to pay the pending 3,034 million euros from the FLA before the end of the year. 

‘Fotografia a Catalunya’ compiles Catalonia’s photographic patrimony into one website. This initiative is the first of the measures set out in the Photography National Plan, approved in 2014. “This website starts to make Catalonia’s photographic patrimony visible” stated current Catalan Minister for Culture, Ferran Mascarell, and added that by launching this website “a lifelong pending issue has been sorted out”. There are 1,600 pictures from 497 different photographers already available which summarise outstanding collections from the National Art Museum of Catalonia (MNAC), the Museum of Contemporary Art (MACBA) and Barcelona’s Photographic Archive, amongst many others, and the aim is to extend the offering to 15,000 by the end of next year. Catalonia’s photographic patrimony includes more than 35 million pictures, kept in more than 323 public archives, museums and other centres all over the territory.

Catalan Minister for Business and Labour, Felip Puig has denied that companies are withdrawing from Catalonia or moving their tax base to other parts of Spain due to the Catalan political process. On the contrary, Puig pointed out, more companies are leaving Madrid to set up their tax base in other Autonomous Communities. He went on to claim that "an orchestrated campaign with distorted data" has been carried out to induce "fear" in companies, investors and the whole of the Catalan citizenry. Puig also emphasised that some of the companies which have changed their tax base have kept the business and the production within Catalonia and noted the 281% rise in foreign investment in Catalonia.