PSOE rejects all proposed resolutions linked to the Independence bid

MadridThe general policy debate in Parliament confirmed once again, among many other things, that sovereigntism's most ambitious claims do not enjoy enough support in Madrid. All the proposed resolutions related to the Independence bid presented by Catalan parties ERC, JxCat, PDECat and CUP have been rejected. However, it was to be expected, because they included a list of demands that were unacceptable for the Socialists. Be that as it may, it is a reflection of the Spanish government's plans for this three-day session in the lower house, in which Pedro Sánchez tried to hide the Catalan issue as much as possible in his initial intervention. It is a decision that pro-independence parties, and also the president of Unidas Podemos, Jaume Asens, reproached him for.

The socialists have not even made an attempt to amend any of the initiatives, according to sources in the parliamentary group. They could have accepted separately some points of each motion for a resolution, but instead they blocked their entirety. For example, ERC, JxCat and PDECat suggested the reform of sedition. The Spanish president, Pedro Sánchez, assured during the state of the nation debate that there is no majority to push forward the legal modification, despite the fact that an important bulk of parliamentary parties' predisposition opening the door to, at least, a negotiation. Catalan president Pere Aragonès demanded this Wednesday concrete measures on the de-judicialisation in view of the meeting held on Friday in Madrid with the head of the Spanish government.

One of the issues was the dialogue or negotiating table, as defended by Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC) and the Catalan Democratic Party (PDECat). The latter demanded an early convening of the negotiating table, meeting on a quarterly basis and leading to a vote. On the other hand, ERC ambiguously proposed in their resolution "to maintain an open dialogue between the Catalan forces" and to reach a "compromise that enables the Spanish state to solve their political differences, also on sensitive issues".

ERC did not make an explicit reference to the right of self-determination, but in a joint proposal with Basque nationalists EH Bildu and the Galician Nationalist Bloc (BNG), they urged the Spanish government to "effectively recognise dialogue and the freely expressed will of the citizens as the only and best instruments for the resolution of the existing political territorial conflicts in Catalonia, the Basque Country and Galicia". Junts and CUP, on the other hand, are committed to "recognising and respecting the will of the 2017 referendum" and "recognising the legitimate right to self-determination of the peoples of the Spanish state".

The two forces of the Catalan government, JxCat and ERC, have aired their differences over the dialogue with the State, but they were agreed in asking for the implementation of the recommendations of the Cilevics report approved last year in the assembly of representatives of the Council of Europe, which endorses the pardons, supports the withdrawal of the European arrest warrants and denounces the fact that the Spanish parliament does not allow a debate on an amnesty law. The pro-sovereignty parties also demanded the Prosecutor's Office cease its persecution of high-ranking officials and activists linked to the Independence bid and JxCat pointed to the "reprobation of the actions of the Court of Auditors". In addition, the four parties coincide in advocating for a thorough investigation into the dirty war against the independence movement, including Operation Catalonia and Catalangate.