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The leader of the Spanish Socialist Party (PSOE) says the plans are “illegal and unilateral” but that he could offer a better fiscal settlement to Catalonia. The Catalan President and the Spanish presidential hopeful met on Tuesday in Barcelona in the first of what they hope could be a series of meetings to restart the dialogue between Madrid and Barcelona. The Catalan President thanked Sánchez for his willingness to talk to him, but regretted his comments about a potential “coexistence crisis” in Catalonia.

The leader of the Spanish Socialist Party (PSOE) and Spanish president hopeful Pedro Sánchez asked the Catalan President to meet in Barcelona to discuss his investiture. The talks will include issues such as the Catalan and the Spanish political situation, a source from the Catalan Government has revealed to CNA. The Socialist leader, who was twice defeated in Congress, wants to present to Puigdemont his government proposal, which includes an agreement with unionist Ciutadans. The Catalan President will defend during the meeting the belief that allowing a referendum in Catalonia is essential to passing the investiture vote. Ciutadans has already warned Sánchez that they will walk away if he grants a referendum to Catalonia.

The committee designed to study the constitutive process which has to put in place the basis of a future Catalan Republic has set to work. This Monday, pro-independence cross party ‘Junts Pel Sí’ MP Lluís Llach took responsibility at the head of the committee, after his predecessor, Muriel Casals, died from a head injury after suffering an accident in the beginning of February. The pro-independence parties in the Parliament considered it “indispensable” to set up a debate on the future Catalan constitution. “It will never be prohibited”, stated alternative left coalition ‘Catalunya Sí que es Pot’ MP Joan Coscubiela. The committee starts its work amid warnings from the Spanish executive, which ultimately took this committee before the Spanish Constitutional Court (TC) to evaluate its legality and potential future suspension.

The former Catalan Minister for the Presidency and Catalan coalition ‘Democràcia i Llibertat’s current leader in the Spanish Parliament, Francesc Homs, has voluntarily testified to Catalonia’s Supreme Court (TSJC) regarding the celebration of the 9-N symbolic vote on independence in 2014. Homs, who was President Mas’ right hand man at the time the vote took place, assured that the TSJC has “political” intentions regarding this case and that it is at the Spanish government’s service. Last October, the TSJC also summonsed former Catalan President, Artur Mas, former Vice-President Joana Ortega and Catalan Minister of Education Irene Rigau for having authorised and co-organised the non-binding and symbolic vote.

Spanish Socialist leader Pedro Sánchez was rejected again this Friday by the Spanish Parliament. The Spanish Socialist Party (PSOE)’s candidate to form a new government in Spain got only 131 votes in favour, from the 350-seat Spanish Parliament. As opposed to in the first round of the investiture debate, the MP from the Canarian Coalition (CC) voted in favour of Sánchez rather than abstaining. The other parties in the Spanish Parliament, the current governing party, the conservative People’s Party (PP), alternative left Podemos and Catalan pro-independence parties ERC and ‘Democràcia i Llibertat’ voted against his investiture, totalling 219 votes. Now it will be time for Spain’s King, Philip VII, to decide the further steps to be taken. 

Spanish Socialist leader Pedro Sánchez has failed in his effort to be invested in the first round of the Spanish Investiture debate. He only obtained the support 130 MPs in the 350-seats Spanish Parliament. The 90 MPs from Sánchez’s own party, Spanish Socialist Party (PSOE) and the 40 from Unionist Ciutadans voted in favour, the MP from Canary Coalition (CC) abstained from voting and all the other parties, including the current governing party, conservative People’s Party, alternative left Podemos and Catalan pro-independence parties ERC and ‘Democràcia i Llibertat’ voted against his investiture. The next round in voting will take place on Friday. During the investiture debate, Sánchez invited PP and Podemos to join his alliance with Ciutadans and assured that he will “never” accept a referendum in Catalonia as it would be “the worst way” to break Spain apart. For his part, Catalan President Carles Puigdemont stated that Sánchez’s failure confirms that there is no alternatSive for Catalonia other than to push for independence.

Catalan President, Carles Puigdemont, emphasised Catalonia’s “key role” in the formation of a new government in Madrid and stressed the need to “have serious dialogue between Catalonia and the Spanish State on a referendum, on independence” and ona potential separation from Spain rather than “having to continually deal with a government in denial on the issue, and using the Spanish constitutional court to throw obstacles in the way of proper democratic politics in Spain”. Puigdemont made this statement in an article published this Tuesday in ‘The Guardian’ and has also admitted to being frustrated about there not being a government in Madrid “able to engage in the negotiations Catalonia has been seeking”.

Spanish Socialist Party (PSOE) leader Pedro Sánchez opened this Tuesday the first round of the investiture debate to instate a new Spanish President. During his speech, Sánchez assured that to make “the change” possible it is necessary to reach “a majoritarian agreement” and “leave Mr. Rajoy’s and the People’s Party’s politics behind”. The candidate to form government also stressed that PSOE “doesn’t aim to impose anything and has no red lines” in reference to alternative left Podemos, which has refused to support the agreement reached by PSOE and anti-Catalan nationalism Ciutadans. Sánchez is far from the 176 votes required to be invested on Wednesday, as he has only secured the 90 votes of his own party, 40 from Ciutadans and 1 from the Canary Coalition (CC).

The Parliament’s Bureau accepted this Tuesday the application handed over by the two main pro-independence forces in the Parliament, cross-party list ‘Junts Pel Sí’ and radical left CUP, which requests the creation of three laws: one on social measures, a second on the Catalan tax office and a third on the legal transition. Representatives from the Parliament’s Bureau assured that starting the processing of the three laws complies with the “formal requirements” established by the Catalan Chamber, although the Parliament’s legal services advised them against doing so. Anti-Catalan nationalism ‘Ciutadans’, the Catalan Socialist Party (PSC) and the Catalan People’s Party (PPC) have urged the Bureau to reconsider the creation of the framework for the three disconnection laws to be launched, as they consider them not to be a project of consensus.

The Catalan government has decided this Tuesday to change the name of the Catalan Ministry for Foreign Affairs, amid the controversy with the Spanish executive and after the recent suspension of the department by the Spanish Constitutional Court (TC). The new name is to be the ‘Affairs and Institutional Relations and Foreign Affairs and Transparency’. “We have made this decision in order not to stop” stated Catalan Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Raül Romeva. The pro-independence party ‘Junts Pel Sí’s top member and former MEP also assured that the government “won’t stop doing” foreign action and insisted that “neither the functions nor the responsibilities” of the department have changed.

KT Corporation has chosen Barcelona to be the “importation gateway for its products and services” in Europe, stated the Catalan Ministry for Business and Knowledge, Jordi Baiget. The agreement with the Korean telecom giant was reached during the latest edition of the Mobile World Congress, which took place in Barcelona between the 22^nd and the 25^th of February, and established the setting up of a commercial office in Catalonia, as well as the creation of “jobs and investments” which are yet to be finalised. At the same time, the agreement foresees that KT will facilitate the distribution of Catalan products and technologies in the Korean market. 

The suspension of the Catalan Ministry for Foreign Affairs is “going to work against the aim of the Madrid government” and boost independence support, according to some foreign MEPs that have been following the political process in Catalonia. “It was just a kind of name change, not a legal change, but it has big emotional meaning for both sides”, said former Foreign Affairs Minister of Lithuania and now MEP Algirdas Saudargas. The President of the Scottish National Party (SNP) and also MEP Ian Hudghton said Scots are “fortunate” not to have “been treated in the way that Madrid seeks to treat Catalonia”. Flemish MEP Mark Demesmaeker argued that there is a “big contrast” between Spain and Belgium, while the Swedish Green MEP Bodil Valero defined as “very strange” the decision by the Spanish Constitutional Court to suspend the Catalan ministry.

Spanish Socialist Party (PSOE) and anti-Catalan nationalism ‘Ciutadans’ have agreed to form “a reformist and progressive” government. The 66-page document, which both parties signed this Wednesday, includes the commitment to oppose “any attempt to hold a referendum with the objective of launching the auto-determination of any territory in Spain”, in clear reference to Catalonia’s push for independence. The document also aims to launch, during the first month of the term of office, an ‘express reform’ of the Spanish Constitution and start writing a new project at the beginning of 2017. Thus, ‘Ciutadans’ will support PSOE leader Pedro Sánchez’s investiture in the upcoming debate, which will take place on the 1^st of March. However, together both parties have only 130 seats, far from the 176 required to invest Sánchez in the first round.

The Spanish Constitutional Court (TC) has accepted the appeal presented by the Spanish executive to suspend the new Catalan Ministry for Foreign Affairs. Thus, the department lead by pro-independence cross-party list ‘Junts Pel Sí’ top member, Raül Romeva will be suspended at first for five months, which is the period that the TC has to study whether the new Ministry is in line with the Spanish Constitution. Earlier this month, the current Spanish vice president, Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría, and current Spanish Minister for Justice, Rafael Catalá claimed that the Catalan government had exceeded the competences in matters of foreign action specified in the Catalan Statute of Autonomy. For his part, the Catalan President Carles Puigdemont assured that Catalonia “will continue to do foreign action”and defended the legitimacy of the new department. 

Almost two months after the 20-D Spanish Elections, current Spanish Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy, and Spanish Socialist Party (PSOE) leader, Pedro Sánchez, have met. After the encounter, which lasted less than half an hour, Rajoy announced that he may still put himself forward for investiture. “The most reasonable thing, in democratic terms, would be a government led by the People’s Party” he stated and added that PP won the 20-D elections and obtained “more than one million votes more” than PSOE. Regarding the approach towards Catalonia’s push for independence, Rajoy said they hadn’t talked about it but emphasised the commitment of both leaders to “complying with the Spanish Constitution”. Rajoy also referred to Catalan President Carles Puigdemont’s statement to Barcelona’s diplomats, considering it “lamentable and unconstitutional” to have told the consuls that “Catalonia walks towards independence”.