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Foreign affairs ministry to study setting up Irish office while focusing on Asia and eastern Africa

Meritxell Serret: "Europe has to work for a peaceful and democratic solution, which puts an end to repression"

Marie Kapretz alleges Spanish secret services "tracked her activities as a private citizen" during period of direct rule from Madrid

Enric Millo appointed as head of international relations for Spain’s southernmost region

Teresa Cunillera later retracted her words

Pro-independence leader is the nominated candidate in the debate to pick a new Catalan president to be held by January 31

Catalan President Carles Puigdemont called once again for the Spanish Government to lay their proposal for Catalonia on the table, in the case that they have one. “We do have a concrete proposal, which is clear and has been endorsed by the citizens”, he said this Monday in Toulouse, after meeting with the MEDEF Occitanie, a French businessmen’s association. “If the Spanish State has any proposal which we are not aware of, we call them to put it on the table”, he added and emphasised that Catalonia has long been willing to negotiate. The “problem”, he lamented, is that there is no one to negotiate with. Puigdemont’s statements came after the delegate of the Spanish Government in Catalonia, Enric Millo, assured that the dialogue between both governments “exists at all levels” and that the Government in Madrid “is working to find a way out” of the political situation in Catalonia.

The legal services of the State Attorney are already “studying” the impugnation of the Catalan Government’s draft budget for 2017, which includes an allocation of €5.8 million to guarantee that the independence referendum scheduled for September will be carried out. The announcement was made on Wednesday by the delegate of the Spanish Government in Catalonia, Enric Millo, who stated that this part of the accounts “could be challenged” in the near future by the Spanish state. Furthermore, Millo believes that the allocation could be annulled by the Spanish Constitutional Court, which may consider it to derive from the Declaration of the 9-N symbolic vote, which has already been declared unconstitutional. The delegate of the Spanish Government in Catalonia believes that this budget “doesn’t contribute” to the relationship between the Catalan Government and the Spanish one. However, he reiterated his “outstretched hand for dialogue” and confirmed he will be meeting with the Catalan President, Carles Puigdemont, this Friday. 

The Spanish Government appointed this Friday former spokesman of the Catalan branch of the governing People’s Party, Enric Millo, as the new delegate of the Spanish executive in Catalonia. Millo will substitute Maria de los Llanos de Luna after a term of office which has been defined by tensions between the two governments. According to the Spanish Government’s Spokesman, Íñigo Méndez de Vigo, the replacement aims to show the “negotiating disposition” of the new Spanish executive. “People are important, but disposition and willingness are even more so”, stated Méndez de Vigo before the press. Millo started his career in the Parliament in 1995 representing Christian Democrat ‘Unió’. In 2003 he joined PPC and since 2010 he has been the party’s spokesman in the Catalan Chamber.

The independence process in Catalonia has awoken international interest. Proof of this is the friendship group with Catalonia that Swiss MPs from different parties will set up in the Federal Assembly. The Delegate of the Catalan Government to France and Switzerland, Martí Anglada, celebrated the “plural and transversal component” of the initiative, which goes beyond political ideologies. Anglada also emphasised the importance of a country “which is a point of reference in terms of democratic quality, direct democracy and international mediation tradition” showing its friendship toward the Catalan people “in the middle of the independence process”. Other countries, such as Estonia, have also set up friendship groups with Catalonia in their Parliament.

Catalan President, Carles Puigdemont and former Scottish First Minister, Alex Salmond, will be interviewed this Thursday on the radio programme ‘El Balcó’ of Cadena SER radio station. The conversation will take place during Puigdemont’s official trip to London, during which the Catalan President 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. Puigdemont will be in London from Wednesday to Friday, and on the diplomatic trip he will also hold an interview with the BBC and attend business meetings in the financial heart of the city. London will be Puigdemont’s second official trip abroad, after visiting Belgium in the beginning of May.

The Public Diplomacy Council of Catalonia (DIPLOCAT) organised a debate in Edinburgh with outstanding European figures from the academic, legal and economic fields to discuss the challenges and opportunities of Catalonia's independence. "It is nonsense to imagine that part of a Member State could be directly expelled from the EU if it becomes independent" stated University of Edinburgh professor and former judge at the Court of Justice of the European Communities Sir David Edward. "Scotland had the chance to freely and legally pronounce on their political future and this is still the shared wish of the majority of Catalans" stated Secretary-General of Diplocat, Albert Royo. The director of the Centre on Constitutional Change, Michael Keating, and the Catalan Government’s delegateto the United Kingdom and Ireland, Josep Suàrez, also attended the event.