Catalan VP denounces conditions of transfer of responsibilities in jail
Deposed ministers symbolically pass the torch to newly elected officials in Brussels and prison
Lasting forty minutes, and with glass in between: that is how some of the deposed Catalan ministers in jail symbolically passed their responsibilities on to the newly elected Catalan ministers on Tuesday. The new vice president and head of economy, Pere Aragonès, criticized that “these are not the appropriate conditions for government representatives.” Talking to the press after visiting his predecessor Oriol Junqueras and deposed foreign minister Raül Romeva, he denounced not having had “neither a room to work in nor enough time to make a good transfer of responsibilities.”
New ministers Ester Capella (Justice) and Ernest Maragall (Foreign Affairs) also attended the visit, which was preceded by more controversy. The plan was that all officials taking departments formerly run by politicians in jail would meet them in the Madrid region prisons where they are being held. Yet for “bureaucracy reasons” the Spanish government only allowed visits to Junqueras and Romeva. Deposed ministers Bassa, Rull, Turull, and Forn were not allowed to meet their successors.
On Monday, President Torra was allowed to meet with Rull, Turull, Forn, Junqueras, and Romeva for two hours in a room. Aragonès said on Tuesday that despite the little time they had, they were able to speak “in depth” about the priorities of their departments.
The new number two of the Catalan executive also stated that Junqueras and Romeva are “strong.” “They are neither ashamed nor feel guilty because they haven’t committed any crime,” he added.
Three other Torra cabinet members including Teresa Jordà (Agriculture), Laura Borràs (Culture) and Alba Vergés (Health) travelled to Brussels also on Tuesday to meet their predecessors for the transfer of responsibilities. Meritxell Serret, Lluís Puig, and Toni Comín welcomed them in the Catalan delegation at the EU capital.