The Prosecutor's Office opposes Puigdemont's immediate return amid the Junts-PSOE crisis.

BrusselsThe Spanish government is asking Junts for "time" and promising to work to fulfill all the points of Pedro Sánchez's investiture agreement. After the judiciary members' votes were announced on Wednesday, the tone of his threats against Moncloa From Congress, the Spanish president assured at the entrance to the European summit in Brussels that his government "is complying" with all the agreements signed with the party led by Carles Puigdemont. "We are doing so, and [Juntos] knows it," responded Sánchez, who wants to downplay the pro-independence party's warnings. However, this Thursday another bucket of cold water arrived: the Prosecutor's Office informed the Constitutional Court that it opposes the lifting of the arrest warrant against Puigdemont issued by the Supreme Court. The former president's defense had requested that this precautionary measure be granted so that the Junts MP could return to Catalonia without risk of imprisonment, while the Constitutional Court considers the high court's refusal to grant him amnesty for embezzlement.

In a document reviewed by ARA, the Public Prosecutor's Office asserts that the Constitutional Court's ordering the Supreme Court to annul the order would be equivalent to ruling in favor of Puigdemont before analyzing the merits of the case. It also denies that this order violates his fundamental rights or the right to political participation, as the defense had argued: "There is, therefore, nothing to restore in terms of the plaintiff's personal freedom, which he enjoys as long as he voluntarily remains outside the jurisdiction of Spanish justice," it argues. According to the prosecutor, if Puigdemont suffers any "limitation" in his right to free movement, it is "due to his own fear regarding his personal situation in the criminal proceedings." And this, it concludes, cannot justify lifting the precautionary measures against him at this point in the proceedings, before the Constitutional Court analyzes whether or not the Supreme Court should have granted him the amnesty.

The breaches

On the political level, the PSOE is trying to buy time. Sánchez has shrugged off responsibility for, for example, the official status of Catalan in the European Union is stuck or the delegation of powers in immigration In the Generalitat, this has not yet become a reality. "There are agreements that do not depend exclusively on the Spanish government or the parliamentary groups that support the coalition government," the Socialist leader argued. It should be remembered that it was Podemos—along with the PP and Vox—who prevented the transfer of powers in immigration matters and that there are several member states in the European Union. led by a strong opposition from Germany, who oppose recognizing Catalan, Galician, and Basque as official languages in the European institutions.

In this context, Junts has called a meeting of the party's executive committee on Monday, headed by the former president in exile, in Perpignan. This meeting was already planned before the party's spokesperson in Congress, Míriam Nogueras, issued the threats to Sánchez, and the party is avoiding advancing whether they will make any decision on their support for the Spanish government. However, a press conference is scheduled for 5 p.m. afterwards to explain the meeting in Catalunya Nord. Be that as it may, sources within the party indicate that the internal meeting notice includes the "review of the Brussels agreement and the actions to be taken," as well as the warning that the meeting could be extended tomorrow and afternoon. –reports Núria Orriols Guiu.

Be that as it may, and in line with Sánchez's statements this Thursday, sources from the Spanish government downplay the threat posed by Junts, attributing it to a "certain theatricality" and a "play on words," but by no means to a real ultimatum. Junts, however, emphasizes that this time it's serious. "Perhaps there should be less talk about schedule changes and instead start talking about the time of change," warned Nogueras, five weeks after warning that the "extension" could not last the entire term. However, at this point, it is not known exactly what these threats mean.

In any case, the Spanish president wanted to remind Junts that the alternative to socialism is the PP and Vox, which would lead the state and Catalonia to a state of "regression." "To go back not just an hour, as the Junts spokesperson said, but 50 years," said Sánchez, who also insisted again that it is "indisputable" that the current Spanish government is "positive" for Catalonia.

Feijóo doesn't take sides.

Also from Brussels, PP leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo declined to comment on whether he would present a motion of no confidence against Sánchez, given that Junts is considering breaking with the Socialist Party. He prefers to wait and see what happens. "What will Junts do? It's up to Junts to make its decisions after two years of experimentation during the Sánchez administration," he stated. Feijóo emphasized that Sánchez is asking for time within Puigdemont's party to "continue the agony," but warned that "it is very difficult to reassure" his partners, given the court docket and the inability, he said, to pass new budgets.