Catalan police head steps down

The director of the Mossos d’Esquadra Catalan police, Albert Batlle, on Monday handed in his resignation to the new Minister of Home Affairs, Joaquim Forn. With four Catalan government ministers replaced in the past two weeks, Batlle’s resignation means another change at the top of one of Catalonia’s key structures. In fact, some sources in the Catalan police suggest that with the October 1 referendum approaching, Batlle’s resignation was politically motivated.

In his resignation letter, the now former head of the Mossos pointed out that he was sure the Catalan police force will continue to serve the public and ensure their safety. In referring specifically to the current situation in Catalonia and the October 1 referendum, Batlle said he was convinced the Mossos will continue to act “with scrupulous respect and uphold the law.”

Pere Soler replaces Batlle as the new head of the Catalan police. Soler was general director of Prison Services from 2013 to 2016, and a town councilor for Terrassa (near Barcelona) for the liberal Convergència (now PDeCAT) party.

The Mossos d’Esquadra answer directly to the Catalan government and have been in the spotlight lately over the recruitment of 500 new officers, which was at first blocked by the Spanish government. There was also intense debate between the Catalan and the Spanish executives when the the Catalan police force were not granted access to the Europol database. Only last week the first security coordination meeting between the two home affairs departments took place after a period of eight years.

The role of the Mossos is considered essential for the October 1 vote, because according to the law of public safety presented by the Spanish government and approved in 2015, in cases of national security or questions that could infringe the constitutional order the Spanish executive has the power to take over command of the police forces in autonomous communities.