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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 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.

The APPG group on Catalonia, created last March in the British Parliament by MPs from the main parties in Westminster, have sent a letter to Spain’s President, Mariano Rajoy, expressing their “concern” over the prosecution of the Catalan Parliament’s president, Carme Forcadell, who faces court “for simply permitting the debate” on independence in the Chamber. The signers consider it “a clear breach of the fundamental democratic right to free speech” and “urge” the Spanish Government “to drop the prosecution”. Forcadell was brought before the court in December accused of disobedience for allowing the pro-independence roadmap to be put to vote among the Catalan MPs on the 27th of July and will face trial again on Monday for the same case.

Barcelona is one of the cities which has presented a proposal to host the European Medicines Agency, which will have to relocate from London due to Brexit. Moreover, it is the preferred option of its nearly 900 employees, who say they will be happy to relocate here. “This makes our candidature the only one which could guarantee that the essence of the EMA will remain the same, since its employees and therefore the talent will maintain,” explained Catalan Minister for Health, Toni Comín. He was one of the main speakers this Tuesday in London at the presentation of Barcelona’s candidacy to host the EMA. He was accompanied by Spanish Minister for Health, Dolors Montserrat and Barcelona’s deputy mayor, Jaume Collboni, who emphasized that the three levels of administration are “working together” to bring the EMA to the Catalan capital.

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”.

The creation of the debate group on Catalonia in the House of Commons is a thorn in the side of Spanish diplomats. The CNA has received confirmation that a Spanish diplomat met with at least two founders of the group, the Scottish National Party MP, George Kerevan, and the Plaid Cymru MP, Hywel Williams, in order to “explain his point of view” to them on the Catalan issue. In comments to the CNA, Williams said that “it is not up to Spain's diplomatic service” to “advise” members of parliament on the “activities” of the chamber. Even though Williams described the meeting's atmosphere as “extremely cordial, as these things are”, he admitted the diplomat was “clearly against” some of the motions on Catalonia that he had promoted recently.

The increasing number of licenses for “rental cars with chauffeur” caused strikes and demonstrations by hundreds of officially-licensed taxi drivers in several Catalan cities on Wednesday. According to representatives of the taxi transport sector, these licenses, also known as VTC, open a legal loophole for the unregulated activity of transport services through mobile apps like Uber or Cabify. In Barcelona almost a thousand taxi drivers marched through the city center to the Delegation of the Spanish Government, blocking traffic in the very heart of the Catalan capital, to demand a solution for the sector. Representatives of several taxi driver unions met with the Deputy Representative of the Spanish Government in Catalonia, Emilio Ablanedo, and asked him to communicate their demand for regulation of new mobile platforms to the Spanish Ministry of Public Works.

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.

Spanish diplomats tried to pressure the moderator of an event with former Catalan president, Artur Mas, in Brussels. The correspondent from the French newspaper Libération, Jean Quatremer, admitted on Tuesday that when he agreed to present the event with the former Catalan president, he received some “news from Madrid”. “They called to ask me why I had accepted, and if I was sure about what I was getting into, and obviously I was,” said the correspondent, stressing that he is not in favor of independence. During the conference, Mas defended the demands for a referendum in Catalonia and said regretfully that “the only” dialogue that the Spanish state offers to the Catalan people is with “the judges”.

The President of Catalonia, Carles Puigdemont, immediately expressed on Tuesday his support to Parliament President, Carme Forcadell, and the four members of the Catalan Parliament Bureau, who are facing charges in court for allowing a debate on independence in the Parliament. Puigdemont said on Twitter: “All my support, out of a commitment to democracy”. The Catalan Vice President, Oriol Junqueras showed his criticism towards the citation by tweeting: “Carme Forcadell, Anna Simó, Lluís Corominas, Ramona Barrufet and Joan Josep Nuet have been summoned to appear before the High Court for giving a voice to the citizens. Democracy?”. And in a press conference after today’s Executive Council, the Catalan Government’s spokesperson, Neus Munté expressed the support of the whole Executive and she assured that “they will accompany them at all times” during the days their colleagues are summoned to testify.