Holding a self-determination referendum for Catalonia is completely off the table, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said on Thursday after Catalan President Pere Aragonès reiterated his call for such a referendum.
Prime Minister and socialist leader Sánchez (PSOE/S&D) reminded Aragonès of the left-wing separatist party ERC that a referendum such as the one demanded by the separatist forces is not in line with the Constitution, Euractiv’s partner EFE reported.
However, after the meeting, he stated that Aragonès insisted on his demand for a referendum to overcome the “sovereignty conflict” with the Spanish state.
“It has to be resolved (the dispute with Madrid) with more democracy, ballot boxes and votes (…) it is time to move forward”, he insisted, the Spanish public television RTVE reported.
“We will make it possible”, he added.
ERC, its right-wing separatist rival JxCat and other separatist and pro-independence Basque parties allow the Sanchez government to secure a stable parliamentary majority.
“They (ERC and the separatists) know what the government’s and my position is. From there, I believe that we have to move forward with an agreement that strengthens self-government (of Catalonia),” Sánchez commented at the press conference following the meeting, held at the headquarters of the Catalonian president in Barcelona.
Sánchez stressed that he was not asking any party to abandon its political objectives – referring to the ERC and JxCat – but insisted that dialogue should always occur within the framework of the Constitution, the 45th anniversary of which was celebrated a few days ago.
“There is no Constitution in the world that accepts and assumes the segregation of a part of its country. There is none in Spain either. Therefore, from a material point of view (a referendum for secession) is not envisaged”, Sánchez stressed.
However, among the agreements reached between the two politicians is the commitment to promote a law guaranteeing multilingualism so that citizens can address the state administration in their language (Spanish and Catalan) during the first half of 2024, Catalunya Radio reported.
Sánchez also called on Catalan separatist forces to exercise their responsibility to offer citizens an agreement and not disputes and confrontations between Madrid and Catalonia, as has happened under Parido Popular-led governments in the past, the prime minister said.
Sánchez returned to power last November after forging a complex agreement with JxCat leader and former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont and ERC leader Oriol Junqueras.
However, to obtain a majority in parliament, the prime minister had to agree to generous concessions, including the approval of an amnesty law for those involved in separatist actions in Catalonia between 2012 and 2023, including the serious secessionist attempt of 2017 in that Spanish region.
(Fernando Heller | EuroEFE.Euractiv.es)
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