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The Catalan Democratic Party (PDC), the new political force which has emerged after former governing liberal Convergència decided to reinvent itself, will be led by former Catalan President Artur Mas. “This is a new party because we want a new country”, stated Mas in a press conference on Saturday, after winning the primary election for the PDC’s leadership with 95.07% of votes. The Catalan Government’s spokeswoman, Neus Munté, was designated PDC’s vice president and Marta Pascal and David Bonvehí will be the party’s general coordinators. Pascal insisted that the PDC “has to be a political reference point for the new state” and admitted that a unilateral referendum on independence “is a real option”.

The Government of Aragon has launched a judicial war against the Catalan Government over art from the Monastery of Santa Maria of Sixena, Aragon. The paintings and pieces of art were bought by the Generalitat in the 90s and have been exhibited at the National Art Museum of Catalonia (MNAC) and the Museum of Lleida ever since. In 2013, the Aragonese Government expressed its determination to “defend the integrity of Aragon’s historic and cultural heritage” and reclaimed the pieces. Despite the Catalan Ministry for Culture having always defended the purchase and struggled to preserve these pieces on two fronts, the murals and the 97 pieces of art, on Tuesday the 53 works housed in MNAC will have to be returned to Aragon.

The Catalan government has set the maximum alert level for forest fires’ risk in 30 regions, most of them in central Catalonia, due to the high temperatures registered in the last few days, which exceeded 40 degrees in some areas. On Tuesday alone, 86 wild fires hit different regions of Catalonia simultaneously. However, the most important one occurred this Tuesday in Vallbona de les Monges, a small village 40 kilometres west from the city of Lleida. In less than 5 hours, the fire burned nearly 900 hectares, most of them cereal crops. The firefighters sent 55 land resources and 3 aerial’s, which achieved to stabilise the fire by Wednesday morning. However, they continue to water the perimeter to prevent the fire from reviving.

The terrorist attack which killed 84 people on Thursday night in the French coastal city of Nice, while thousands were celebrating Bastille Day on the streets, has been responded to with international condolences. “Today we want to add Catalonia’s voice to those raised in many democratic countries, which respect freedom and religious and cultural diversity”, stated Catalan President, Carles Puigdemont and referred to Nice’s citizens as “neighbours and brothers”. “France’s mourning is also Catalonia’s”, he added and warned that the terrorists “won’t break [our] cohesion nor dispel the fraternity” towards the victims. Puigdemont’s statement came ahead of the one minute’s silence held on Barcelona’s Plaça Sant Jaume, the square between the Catalan Government’s headquarters and Barcelona’s City Hall.

The pro-independence parties in the Catalan Chamber, governing cross-party list ‘Junts Pel Sí’ and radical left CUP, have expressed their differences regarding the vote of confidence on Catalan President, Carles Puigdemont, which will be held in September. While ‘Junts Pel Sí’ consider voting in favour of Puigdemont’s presidency to imply backing the budget for 2017, CUP see things differently and stated that renewing the confidence in Puigdemont is part of the agreed pro-independence roadmap but not necessarily linked to the bill. The Catalan Government’s spokeswoman, Neus Munté, considers the budget an “indispensable tool” for the pro-independence roadmap to move forward.

Catalan Government Spokeswoman, Neus Munté stressed the need for the Spanish parties to reach an agreement to guarantee the governability of the State and added that it would be “terrible” to call for General Elections again. Munté stated that the Spanish Government has been “inactive” for many months and warned that not taking decisions has consequences for all citizens. Munté’s statements come on the same day that current Spanish President, Mariano Rajoy, started his round of talks after the 26-J Spanish Elections. This Tuesday he met with Spanish Unionist ‘Ciutadans’, which came fourth in the last Elections and alternative left coalition ‘Unidos Podemos’, who were the third force in the Spanish Parliament.  

For the first time ever, Catalonia took part in Almedalsveckan, a political festival with more than 50 years of tradition held annually on the Swedish island of Gotland. The Europahuset, which gathers together representatives from the European Parliament and the European Commission in Sweden, invited the Secretary General of the Public Diplomacy Council of Catalonia (DIPLOCAT), Albert Royo and the Catalan Government’s General Director of Foreign Affairs, Maria Badia to discuss the challenges that Catalonia’s political process represents for the EU. Royo emphasised how the Spanish Government failed to respond to Catalonia’s demands in relation to a vote on independence. For her part, Badia relied on the EU’s pragmatism and predicted that it “will find the way to embrace Catalonia when the moment arises”.

Liberal Convergència (CDC), the party which ruled in Catalonia together with Christian Democrat ‘Unió’ for nearly 30 years,wants to reinvent itself. CDC, currently led by former Catalan President Artur Mas, has reinforced its pro-independence component since it split from ‘Unió’ and now aims to “create a new instrument” in line with “the new challenges ahead”. The party also aims to renew its board and Mas suggested a tandem formed by himself and Catalan Government spokeswoman, Neus Munté to head it. All these questions will be discussed this weekend at the 18^th CDC Congress and the new steps to take will have to be voted upon by more than 3,000 people.

The independence process in Catalonia has awoken international interest. Proof of this is the friendship group with Catalonia that Swiss MPs from different parties will set up in the Federal Assembly. The Delegate of the Catalan Government to France and Switzerland, Martí Anglada, celebrated the “plural and transversal component” of the initiative, which goes beyond political ideologies. Anglada also emphasised the importance of a country “which is a point of reference in terms of democratic quality, direct democracy and international mediation tradition” showing its friendship toward the Catalan people “in the middle of the independence process”. Other countries, such as Estonia, have also set up friendship groups with Catalonia in their Parliament.

Catalan Minister for Foreign Affairs, Raül Romeva, staked a claim for Catalonia’s “own voice in the world” to defend “universal values” such as that which Catalan soldiers stood for in World War I. Romeva made this statement this Monday at Belloy-en-Santerre (France) where he paid tribute to the Catalan volunteers who fought with the French Foreign Legion to liberate this region from German forces, on the 4^th of July 1916. Romeva emphasised that those soldiers “fought for these ideals, against authoritarianism and for republican values”. After a diplomatic conflict which nearly banned the Catalan Government from taking part in the homage, Romeva celebrated that Catalonia could finally pay tribute to the soldiers with the Catalan flag and apart from the Spanish Government. 

Radical left pro-independence CUP have formally asked Catalan President, Carles Puigdemont, to convene a summit at Catalan Government headquarters in order to agree on the terms of a unilateral referendum on independence. This is CUP’s preferred formula, since in view of the last Spanish Election results, they consider ultimately holding a referendum in Catalonia agreed with the Spanish State to be no longer possible. CUP has suggested inviting to this summit all groups which are for holding a referendum, meaning pro-independence cross-party list ‘Junts Pel Sí’, alternative left alliance ‘Catalunya Sí que es Pot’ and also alternative left ‘En Comú Podem’, which is not represented in the Catalan Parliament but won the recent Spanish Elections in Catalonia. According to CUP, the unilateral referendum on independence should be “binding” and take place within a year.

The Catalan Government will offer to host the European Medicines Agency’s headquarters, which is currently in London. The body, which is responsible for the scientific evaluation, supervision and safety monitoring of medicines developed by pharmaceutical companies for use in the EU, is looking for a new location after ‘Brexit’ and the Generalitat will defend Catalonia’s “potential in the pharmaceutical and biomedical sector” for Catalonia to become the agency’s new home. Indeed, in the nineties the Catalan Government already presented a “very solid portfolio” to house the European Medicines Agency, which was ultimately located in London’s Canary Wharf financial district. According to sources interviewed by CNA, Catalonia is now “racing” with other countries which have also presented their candidacies, such as Sweden, Denmark and Italy.

The magistrates at the Spanish Constitutional Court (TC) lifted the cautionary suspension against the functions and structure of the Catalan Ministry for Foreign Affairs, which they dictated five months ago. However, they have kept the suspension on the Ministry’s name. While they considered that the functions and structure of the department match the Catalan Government’s competences, as far as they are limited to “foreign projection” they still believe that the denomination of the ‘Catalan Ministry for Foreign Affairs’ could represent an invasion of the Spanish State’s competences on this matter. 

Judge Joan Manel de Abril has refused the appeal which called for the closing of the file on former Catalan President, Artur Mas, former Catalan Vice President, Joana Ortega, and former Minister for Education, Irene Rigau, who were summonsed for having organised the non-binding and symbolic vote on independence that took place on the 9^th of November 2014. Thus, the case will proceed and the accused will be taken before the court for alleged disobedience and perversion of justice. Pro-independence parties ‘Junts Pel Sí’ and radical left CUP showed their support to the summonsed and admitted to being “outraged” by the judge’s decision. On the other hand, Conservative People’s Party (PP) MP, Xavier García Albiol admitted to being “happy” and accused Mas of being “cocky”.

Liberal Convergència (CDC), run for the last Spanish Elections under the name ‘Democràcia i Llibertat’ (‘Democracy and Freedom’) and secured 8 MPs in the 350-seat Spanish Parliament. Thisat was the first time that CDC raun for the Spanish Elections without Christian Democrat ‘Unió’, after their 40 years-long coalition split up over differences on Catalonia’s pro-independence process. This time around, Convergència has decided to run under theirhis original name and present themselves as a guarantor that Catalonia’s push for independence staysed “united” and “strong”.  “Our trajectory supports us”, stated  CDC’s candidate for the Spanish Elections, former Catalan Government’s spokesman Frances Homs, ion an article published by CNA.