Torra warns of state of alarm opposition if Catalonia cannot decide future
Catalan president wants powers over key services such as healthcare to be returned to regional governments
The Catalan president, Quim Torra, has warned his Spanish counterpart, Pedro Sánchez, of opposition to any future state of alarm extension votes if Catalonia “cannot decide its own future.”
Specifically, Torra wants powers that were lost during the first state of alarm, such as healthcare and police, to be returned to the Catalan authorities.
"Until that happens, we will oppose any extension," Torra warned in an institutional statement this evening.
Junts per Catalunya, as well as the other pro-independence parties in the Spanish congress, voted no to the latest extension last Wednesday, but the prolongation of emergency measures still passed after the Spanish government struck deals with Ciudadanos and the Basque Nationalist Party.
On Sunday, Torra plans to take part in the meeting of regional presidents with Pedro Sánchez, where the Catalan leader has unveiled that he will present a package of 40 measures, mostly economic, that he considers "essential" to reactivate the Catalan economy.
Among these measures are the reversal of the state deficit, the payment of outstanding debts, and funding for the repairs of damage done by storm Gloria in January.