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PP and PSOE united against Catalan referendum

May 29, 2017 02:40 PM | ACN

The two main Spanish parties are frontally opposed to the celebration of an independence referendum in Catalonia and their leaders will fight together against the Catalan government plans’ to hold one. In a phone conversation on Monday, the Spanish President and leader of the People’s Party (PP), Mariano Rajoy, and the re-elected leader of the Spanish Socialist Party (PSOE), Pedro Sánchez, discussed their united front against a self-determination vote in Catalonia. “The PSOE will defend the legality and the Constitution,” confirmed the Spanish Vice President, Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría, in a press conference in Madrid, where she briefed journalists about the two leaders’ conversation. According to her, the Socialists are “against the illegal referendum being planned by the Catalan Government” and will block “any attempt” to “violate” the Spanish Constitution. Sáenz de Santamaría also insisted that a self-determination referendum is “unnegotiable” but again urged the Catalan President, Carles Puigdemont, to present his plans in the Spanish Congress.

Spanish government invites Catalan president to present his referendum proposal before Congress

May 19, 2017 05:35 PM | ACN

The Spanish government’s vice president, Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría, urged the Catalan government’s president, Carles Puigdemont, to outline the proposal of celebrating an agreed referendum before the Spanish Congress. She said it was an “invitation” for the “dialogue and debate to be carried out in parliament”, which, according to the Spanish vice president, would allow addressing the celebration of the referendum “where it belongs, in the chamber”. According to Sáenz de Santamaría, her proposal makes sense because, “as of today, only Parliament can decide a matter of this nature”, whereas the Spanish government “cannot authorize nor negociate” the celebration of a referendum. Sáenz de Santamaría also stated that no member of her executive will be present at the conference that the Catalan president, Carles Puigdemont; the vice president, Oriol Jnqueras; and the Catalan Minister for Foreign Affairs, Raül Romeva, will hold in Madrid on Monday.

Spanish Government sees referendum as 'democratic abnormality' and vows to fight it 'firmly'

January 16, 2017 02:39 PM | ACN

Spanish Vice President, Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría, considers Catalonia’s push for a referendum a “democratic abnormality” since it is not allowed by the Spanish Constitution. In this vein, she warned that the Spanish executive has “many mechanisms” to fight the eventual referendum on independence and that it will be done “with dialogue and proportionality” but “firmly”. In an interview with Spanish Public Television (TVE) this Monday, Saénz de Santamaría also referred to the Conference of Autonomic Presidents, which will take place on Tuesday and which Catalan President, Carles Puigdemont, has refused to attend. In this vein, the Spanish Vice President assured that the executive’s goal is to “defend and respect the equality amongst all Spaniards” and assured that the conference will discuss those topics which really matter to the citizens.

Catalan leaders call for bilateral relationship with Spain, refuse to attend upcoming regional summits

December 22, 2016 10:43 AM | ACN

Spain’s call for Catalan leaders to attend the upcoming Autonomous Communities’ summits to discuss regional policies has not changed the Government’s plan for the meetings. The Catalan Vice President and Catalan Minister for Economy and Tax Office, Oriol Junqueras, have refused to attend the Council on Fiscal and Financial Policies (CPFF, going by its Catalan initials) this Thursday, citing other political commitments. Catalan Secretary of Economy, Pere Aragonès, will go instead. For his part, Catalan President, Carles Puigdemont, has already announced he will not attend the Conference of Presidents convened by the Spanish President, Mariano Rajoy, for the 17th of January. “Catalonia has won the right to a bilateral relationship as the demands of the Catalan people have nothing to do with the requests of other Autonomous Communities”, Puigdemont said in October, when he announced that he would not be attending the conference.