16th February 2025
Carles Puigdemont
Barcelona News Catalonia News Madrid News Main News

Puigdemont asks Sánchez for ‘specific proposals’

Former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont says that Pedro Sánchez becoming the Spanish Prime Minister is a new ‘opportunity’ for dialogue between the Catalan and Spanish governments, although he also called on Sánchez to put forward ‘specific proposals’ on ‘Catalonia’s right to self-determination’.

Puigdemont made his comments in Scotland, where he went this weekend to speak about Catalonia’s relationship with Europe at the Beyond Borders International Festival held in Edinburgh. It was his first trip outside Belgium, where he resides, since Spain decided to drop an international arrest warrant for him.

ALSO READ: Puigdemont makes surprise visit to Scotland

The former Catalan leader also admitted that with the arrival of Sánchez’s Socialist (PSOE) government, the climate between the two executives has changed ‘in an obvious way’, and Puigdemont predicted that should the authorities in Madrid initiate talks, president Quim Torra’s government and Catalan society in general will respond positively.

Carles Puigdemont
Carles Puigdemont, former Catalan president, at a press conference in Berlin (Guillem Roset)

‘Where Now for Catalonia and Europe?’

During the debate, ‘Where Now for Catalonia and Europe?,’ which was mediated by Colombian writer Óscar Guardiola-Rivera, Puigdemont said that the current political situation in Catalonia could actually help resolve ‘the most important conflict of our time: the self-determination of peoples’.

In his talk of about an hour, Puigdemont said that he knows ‘what it is to live without democracy’, in reference to the regime of dictator Francisco Franco, who died when he was 13. He also complained that the state in Spain legally allows tributes to Franco while referendums on self-determination are banned.

Recent Posts

Trump announces reciprocal tariffs on EU in retaliation to VAT

News Desk

Spanish, French, German Foreign Ministers: no Ukraine deal without EU

News Desk

Ryanair ad campaign depicts Spanish minister as clown in ‘illegal’ fines row

News Desk

Rubiales ‘absolutely sure’ that Hermoso said he could kiss her

News Desk

Barça player denies inappropriately touching opponent in women’s football match

News Desk

Around 15,000 Madrid residents call on local government to resolve ‘housing emergency’

News Desk

Leave a Comment