ERC members meet Puigdemont in Brussels to tackle his bid for president
The two parties have not yet reached any agreement, but both state that the negotiations are "progressing"
Members of pro-independence Esquerra Republicana (ERC) party travelled to Brussels to sit down with Carles Puigdemont. In the meeting, the party representatives and Puigdemont tackled Puigdemont’s bid for president. Once the meeting was over, both parties said that they have not yet reached any agreement, but noted that the negotiations are "progressing". Puigdemont has summoned his parliamentary group, Together for Catalonia, next Monday.
So far, Puigdemont is the only candidate to be sworn in as president. Yet, his bid for the post is being questioned by Madrid. The Spanish government challenged Puigdemont’s candidature, and the Spanish Constitutional Court still has to decide on its legality. Still, the Parliament president, Roger Torrent, insisted once again that Carles Puigdemont is the only candidate for president.
ERC will not risk putting more pro-independence officials in prison, says party leader
This trip comes only two days after the party secretary general, Marta Rovira, said in an interview with the Catalan News Agency (ACN) that “picking a new president should not mean criminal consequences or negative legal effects for a number of MPs.” The pro-independence party Esquerra warned in fact that it will not risk putting more pro-independence officials in prison in order to swear Puigdemont in.
In the interview, Rovira stated that the talks are in an “advanced stage”, although she admitted that the plan to form a government and a political program is not yet fully set. “We still lack a global agreement, one that encompasses not only an effective investiture with all the guarantees, but also a general compromise for the whole political term,” she said.
Rovira also called on the other pro-independence forces to pick someone for president who can effectively take office, as Madrid is challenging Carles Puigdemont’s bid for the post. Until the judges make a final decision on the issue, the Catalan Parliament will not reschedule the investiture debate he postponed earlier this week.