international interest

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.

“This official trip and the meetings we have held prove that Catalonia’s political process generates international interest”, stated Catalan President, Carles Puigdemont, on the last day of his official trip to London. Indeed, this is so much the case that Spain’s government sent two officials to the British capital in order to “counteract the explanations that the Catalan government has been giving first hand”, he lamented. Puigdemont made these statements on his last day in London, while visiting the headquarters of the Catalan bank ‘Banc de Sabadell’ in the City. “The European political, economic and social agents want to know first-hand what’s going on in Catalonia and why” assured Puigdemont, which “refutes the Spanish mantra, according to which the Catalan process doesn’t interest anybody”.