parliament

The proposal to be taken to the Spanish Congress suggests modifying penal code to exempt those who help provide terminally ill with ‘safe, peaceful and painless’ death

People's Party representative in Brussels accepts “there is a political problem" in Catalonia but warns solution "is not independence"

Some 40 Catalan MPs mark 20th anniversary of Basque councilor’s assassination by ETA

Spanish legal action against chamber bureau members to be discussed by  Francophonie parliament in next political commission, says Forcadell

Independence vote receives broad municipal support despite Spain's opposition

64,000 victims of fascist repression get justice more than 40 years since the end of the dictatorship, including executed president Lluís Companys

The Commission for Economic Affairs adopts the draft law that could set the basis for a Catalan fiscal system separate from Spain's

During his campaign to become President of the EU Parliament, Tajani promised to promote the use of the Catalan

Ireland’s ‘Houses of the Oireachtas’ will create a friendship group on Catalonia in order to get a deeper understanding of its political situation, as well as enhancing trade relationships and promoting cultural exchange. The initiative gathers together members of the Irish Assembly and the Senate representing Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil, and Sinn Féin, the main parties in the bicameral parliament. Thus, Ireland is following the example of other countries such as the United Kingdom, Finland, Switzerland, and Estonia, who also have discussion groups on Catalonia. Catalan Minister for Foreign Affairs, Raül Romeva, will travel to Dublin on Wednesday to attend the presentation of the cross-party group and explain Catalonia’s referendum roadmap to the participants.

The Catalan Parliament called for the Government to “launch the necessary actions to obtain the advice, recognition, and endorsement of the Venice Commission with respect to the conditions that the referendum should fulfill in order to meet the requirements established by this body”. The Catalan Chamber also agreed to ask the Catalan executive to inform the Commission of the Catalan people’s desire to call “a referendum in agreement with the State”. This point was approved thanks to the votes of governing coalition Junts Pel Sí and the alternative left coalition Catalunya Sí que es Pot. However, the members of the other pro-independence party in the chamber, the radical left CUP, abstained from voting, since they believe that the possibility of reaching an agreement with the Spanish State regarding the referendum is not realistic.

The Catalan president, Carles Puigdemont, accompanied by the Catalan Minister for Foreign Affairs, Raül Romeva, met the co-president of the Greens-European Free Alliance (Greens-EFA), Ska Keller, and other MEPs from this party on Friday to discuss the political situation in Catalonia. The meeting, which took place at the seat of the Government of Catalonia and the Presidency of the Generalitat, also included the presence of the co-president and the Secretary General of the European Green Party, Monica Frassoni and Mar García; and the MEPs Ernest Urtasun, Bodil Valero, and Josep Maria Terricabras. During the meeting, President Puigdemont and the Minister Romeva met with the MEPs and analyzed the current political situation in Catalonia and the cornerstones of European politics.

MEPs from different parties have criticized the way the Spanish State has used the court to tackle Catalonia’s pro-independence aspirations, particularly this week as the Parliament’s President, Carme Forcadell, and other members of the Chamber’s Bureau have been brought to court for allowing a debate on independence in the Parliament. According to Sinn Féin’s MEP, Matt Carthy, the Spanish State is “undermining its reputation across Europe” by taking public representatives to court. In a similar vein, European People’s Party MEP, Sipra Pietikäinen, said the reaction from the Spanish judiciary was “very strong” and called for “mediation” instead to overcome the current deadlock. Slovenian MEP Igor Soltes also criticized the EU role regarding these kinds of conflicts and lamented that “sometimes it is easier” for EU institutions to intervene “in foreign countries” such as Venezuela rather than doing so in Catalonia.

Catalan representatives in the European Parliament from all political parties agree that “there are many reasons to celebrate” Europe Day but warned that the EU should push ahead an ambitious agenda of reforms in order to survive. In the wake of Europe Day and the recent victory of Emmanuel Macron in the French Presidential Elections, the CNA spoke to the MEPs of the Republican Catalan Left (ERC), the Catalan European Democratic Party (PDeCAT), the Green Party (ICV), the Catalan Socialist Party (PSC), the People’s Party (PP) and Ciutadans (C’s) as well as to some independent MEPs about how they see the future of the EU.

“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.

On the 80th anniversary of the Guernica Bombing, Spain’s denial of historical justice or reparation of its civil war victims was the focus of a conference at the European Parliament. NGO’s, relatives of Spanish Civil War victims and the Francoist dictatorship, and MEPs called on the European Parliament to help promote “truth, justice, and reparation”. Roger Heredia, co-founder of the DNA bank for civil war victim identification in Catalonia said that “the Spanish State systematically violates human rights” and insisted on the necessity of raising awareness among the European MPs about how Spain ignores reports from both the Human Rights Council and the UN-Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances.