An amnesty law and many pacts to close: Junts denounces that the agreement with the PSOE is withering | News from Catalonia

The agreement that germinated in Brussels, flourishes in Switzerland but withers in Madrid, according to Junts. Carles Puigdemont assures that the terms of the pact that, 13 months ago, he himself negotiated in the Belgian capital with emissaries of the PSOE do not progress adequately because they run aground when they reach the Government’s table. In the press conference he offered this Monday to take stock of that commitment, the president of Junts per Catalunya reproached Pedro Sánchez for the fact that the thread of promises from that time had become a skein of non-compliance, despite the fact that the law of amnesty was approved in May. “We gave the PSOE a loan and it is in the red,” criticizes the president of Junts. “In Switzerland things are going reasonably well, there is empathy, but when the time comes to make a deal with a minister it seems that someone has not passed on the information,” says Puigdemont, in reference to the operation of the international verification mechanism that was agreed upon in the agreement. of Brussels to get the deals between Junts and the PSOE back on track.

Since Junts gave free rein to the inauguration of Pedro Sánchez, the former Catalan president and the PSOE negotiators have held regular meetings in the vicinity of the Swiss city of Geneva, under the supervision of the Salvadoran diplomat Francisco Galindo Vélez. Puigdemont maintains that everything flows there, but denounces that good harmony is only a mirage when the papers arrive at the offices of the Executive: “Those of us on the Junts side have the capacity to make decisions, those of us on the PSOE side “It seems that they are mere delegates,” criticizes the former Catalan president. The Swiss meetings take place under strict discretion, and hardly anything is reported on what is discussed there. It has emerged that one of the regulars in the socialist delegation has been Santos Cerdán, organizational secretary of the PSOE and one of the men in the core of the President of the Government’s confidence.

Last year in Brussels, Cerdán was in charge of signing the four-page document that sealed the contract between the PSOE and Junts. When asked explicitly about which socialist oversights make him most complaining, Puigdemont responded that “the inventory is updated and reviewed month by month” and pointed out that this is a question that “the PSOE has to answer.” Shortly after, he maneuvered to avoid appearing as a naive negotiator: “We have made a lot of progress, but not in those things that seem essential to us,” he pointed out.

The Brussels agreement highlights the need to approve an Amnesty Law “to ensure full political, institutional and social normality.” It was specified that the law “must include both those responsible and the citizens who, before and after the 2014 consultation and the 2017 referendum, have been the subject of decisions or judicial processes linked to these events.” The law was approved in Congress on May 30, but Puigdemont is still unable to enter Spain without risk of being detained. Junts admits that the obstacles are the responsibility of the Supreme Court magistrates, but the party leader blames Pedro Sánchez for being “incapable of making a single statement, not a single appearance to denounce this threat to democracy.”

The wording of the Brussels agreement also refers to a new financing model for Catalonia, according to which Junts proposes “a modification of the LOFCA that establishes an exception clause for Catalonia that recognizes the uniqueness in which the institutional system of the Catalonia is organized. Generalitat and to facilitate the transfer of 100% of all taxes paid in Catalonia.” The PSOE has made concessions in this regard, but it is part of the content of a negotiation with Esquerra Republicana, a staunch electoral rival of Junts, but an equally fundamental partner as the post-convergent for Sánchez’s stability.

“Catalan is not the official language of Europe due to the lack of involvement of Pedro Sánchez,” Puigdemont criticized this Monday. The official status of the Catalan language in community institutions is another of the points that Junts has claimed as part of its supposed good negotiating skills. However, the passage of months has not served to turn the announcements into reality. A similar case occurs with the transfer of powers over immigration to the Generalitat. The issue is not part of the express content of the Brussels pact, but Junts presented it as an achievement at the beginning of January. Then there was talk of a “comprehensive” transfer. This past weekend Jordi Turull acknowledged that the issue still has “unresolved issues.”

The agreement signed last year in Brussels expressly stated that “the PSOE and Junts recognize their deep discrepancies.” This Monday, also in the Belgian capital, Puigdemont focused his intervention on attacking the socialist side: “He continues to show that he is not trustworthy.”

Republican Left incites the debate on support for the Government

In Esquerra Republicana, immersed in its internal process of change of leadership, it has also wanted to stage a maximum demand for the fulfillment of the pending commitments derived from the yes to invest Pedro Sánchez. Although the party officially does not deviate from the line of asking for the results of the agreement to be seen, the two candidates fighting for the reins of the party have embarked on a competition of who is tougher, even opening the door for Let the militancy have the last word on the accounts that have to be negotiated in the Congress of Deputies and the Parliament.

“It is the PSOE that must decide whether it wants to fulfill its commitments or not. It is the PSOE that must decide if it gives arguments to society as a whole to avoid a Government of PP and Vox,” said Oriol Junqueras, head of one of the lists competing for the leadership, after learning of Junts’ proposal that Sánchez will raise a motion of confidence. He former vice president It states that the reduction of the debt from the Autonomous Liquidity Fund (FLA) is fulfilled as a major commitment that must be fulfilled before approving the new accounts. For his part, Xavier Godàs, from the other candidacy, extends to other administrations, such as the councils, the idea of ​​the militancy speaking out on the agreements with the socialists, informs Camilo S. Baquero.