Catalan foreign minister welcomes Brexit deal
Unionist party head courts controversy after linking Catalonia and UK enclave with "destruction of Spain" that began with terrorist attacks in 2004
"All of us lose with Brexit, but regarding Gibraltar, Spain wins." Spanish president Pedro Sánchez was exultant after Saturday's summit on Brexit, in which London and Brussels pledged to include Spain in any territorial agreements that might affect the British enclave at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula.
Catalonia's new foreign affairs minister, Alfred Bosch, welcomed the deal on Brexit, arguing that it "provides legal security" to both the public and companies. Bosch pointed out that there are "almost 18,000 British citizens living in Catalonia" and "19,300 Catalans resident in the United Kingdom." However, he rejected claims by Spain on Gibraltar, saying Spanish demands had not been met.
Above all, the minister pointed to the stability the deal offers to "more than 2,000 Catalan companies that export regularly to the United Kingdom." "The agreement strengthens our commitment to Europeanism and our support for a Europe that is more democratic, prosperous and that addresses the reality of its peoples," he tweeted.