Catalonia and Spain agree to favor ‘progress over deadlines’ in independence conflict talks

Governments met in Barcelona on Wednesday, kickstarting high-stakes negotiation

Members of the Catalan government (right) facing members of the Spanish government (by Jordi Bedmar-Catalan government)
Members of the Catalan government (right) facing members of the Spanish government (by Jordi Bedmar-Catalan government) / Cristina Tomàs White, Guifré Jordan & Alan Ruiz Terol

Cristina Tomàs White, Guifré Jordan & Alan Ruiz Terol | Barcelona

September 15, 2021 09:38 PM

Dialogue is the only way forward: this is the main, and perhaps only, point of agreement between the Catalan and Spanish governments after a meeting in Barcelona on Wednesday that kickstarted a high-stakes negotiation to address the independence conflict.

After years of political confrontation, a compromise still seems a long way off: Catalan officials want a self-determination referendum and an amnesty for all people facing charges related to the ongoing independence push, but the Spanish government rejects both demands.

Still, both sides agreed to not set any deadlines for the talks—a decision contrasting with the two-year grace period given to Catalonia’s leading Esquerra party by some of its pro-independence allies.