In his first appearance before the Commission on Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Institutional Relations and Transparency held today in Parliament, Minister Raül Romeva affirmed that "the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Institutional Relations and Transparency is this Government’s first State structure and demonstrates our unequivocal determination to become a State”.  

 

In this regard, Romeva noted that the creation of the new department “is appropriate for the new period that begins with this legislature”. The Minister emphasised the importance of integrating areas such as institutional relations, transparency and open government to the department, offering to be innovative and to rethink new relational channels between Catalonia and the rest of the world; between the Government and institutions, and between the citizens and the agencies the Government represents.

 

Romeva affirmed that the Ministry was one “of action, interaction and set up to build tangible synergies” and therefore “we are relying on the mainstreaming, coordination and optimization of resources”. “We live in an age of emerging crossovers where the approach to any issues is necessarily multidisciplinary and must be the result of collective progress”, he added.    

 

Subsequently, in reference to Catalonia’s role in the world, Romeva asserted that “our objective is to allow for Catalonia to be heard, with its own voice, on the global stage and to bring elements of reflection to its nations”. “We want to speak to the world because we want be useful and because this dialogue will contribute to the improvement of our fellow citizens’ well-being”, he explained.

 

According to Romeva, “Catalonia must be capable of making decisions in the face of the new challenges and demands that define the times we live in, such as globalization, the representativity of institutions, the desire for maximum transparency”, while ensuring it has “a better government that actively promotes a deep sense of democracy”.