In an interview on the radio programme El matí de Ràdio 4, Minister Meritxell Budó said it was essential to be able to “talk about everything, with guarantees”, in reference to the meeting between the president of the Government of Catalonia, Quim Torra, and the Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, to be held on 6 February. Budó stressed: “If that’s not possible, it won’t be for any lack of determination on the part of the Catalan government.”

The minister said: “The Spanish state can’t veto any matter that the Government of Catalonia thinks it needs to bring to the negotiating table.” Budó said the goal was to lay the groundwork and establish parameters for the negotiations between the Catalan and Spanish governments. “President Torra wants to tell the prime minister that at the negotiating table it must be possible to talk about self-determination and ending repression – what we’re seeing now what we’ve witnessed over the last two years. So we’re talking about an amnesty law.” She added that it was also important to address the need to “stop judicialising politics and find a political solution to what is a political conflict”.

According to the minister, “Confrontation is inevitable right now. As long as we’re experiencing repression and have political prisoners and exiles, there’s no way around it. We have no choice but to highlight the democratic regression of the Spanish state”.