spanish minister for foreign affairs

Former Spanish Minister for Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Garcia Margallo, wanted to stop the 9-N symbolic vote on independence in 2014 by force, he said Wednesday during a conference with former Catalan VP, Joana Ortega. Ortega was recently banned from public office by the Spanish Constitutional Court precisely for allowing the non-official referendum. According to Margallo’s version, he suggested the Spanish President, Mariano Rajoy and the Spanish Minister for Home Affairs at the time, Jorge Fernández Díaz, suspend the consultation by taking over the Catalan Police and destroying the ballot boxes. He added that not following his advice “was a mistake” and recommended a similar action to stop the referendum scheduled for September 2017. A vote which Rajoy rejected again this Wednesday in the Spanish Parliament.

Catalan President, Carles Puigdemont, responded angrily to the confirmation from former Spanish Minister for Foreign Affairs, José Manuel García Margallo that the Spanish Government had pressured other governments to give statements against Catalonia’s pro-independence process. “It’s unacceptable,” he said and called for Margallo to explain which commitments he made, under whose authority and “what favors Spain owes” in exchange for these position statements. According to Puigdemont, Margallo’s confession proves the Catalan Government’s claims that the Spanish State “is doing everything in its power” so that Catalan representatives “are not received, listened to, or taken into account”. “I hope that the Spanish political system is democratically mature enough to demand an explanation from Mr. Margallo in Parliamentary session,” he added.

Former Spanish Minister for Foreign Affairs, José Manuel García Margallo, admitted that the Spanish Government pressured other governments to give statements against Catalonia’s pro-independence process. “Nobody knows all the favors we owe in exchange for the statements we got,” he said this Wednesday in an interview on Spanish TV. According to Margallo, the normal procedure when a public representative is asked about such a question is to demur, saying it is an “internal matter”.  Catalan President, Carles Puigdemont, considered the facts “very serious” and urged the former Minister to give further explanations.

The results of the 20-D Spanish Elections and the negotiations to form a new government in Catalonia, which are still ongoing, are worrying the business world. During the celebration of the eighth edition of the Carles Ferrer Salat Awards, which recognise remarkable initiatives in the business world, Foment del Treball’s president Joaquim Gay de Montellà highlighted the difficulties in forming “stable and strong” governments. “Everything would be easier if it would have been possible to start a dialogue process” he stated in a speech before current Catalan President Artur Mas and the Spanish Minister for Foreign Affairs, José Manuel García Margallo. Gay de Montellà also announced that “the risk of recession has moved away and the economy is running”.

On the day after the Spanish Constitutional Court (TC) suspended the Parliament's declaration to start the independence process and the same day that the official notification arrived at the Parliament, Spain's King Philip VI has guaranteed Spain's unity. "The Constitution will prevail" he stated and added that Spain "won't allow that its unity could be questioned, as it is the base of its people’s peaceful and free coexistence". "It is not the time to go back to the past" stated Spain's King "but to reaffirm ourselves in our compromise with a present and a future full of shared progress and democratic coexistence". "As head of the State" he concluded "I will always be by all Spanish citizens' side". Spain's King made these statements during a ceremonial event of the 'Marca España' ('Spain Brand') initiative, during which many personalities from the cultural, economic and sporting spheres were honoured by Spanish Minister for Foreign Affairs, José Manuel García Margallo.