The president of the Catalan Government, Pere Aragonès, has affirmed this afternoon that from the Government "we will watch over the security of all the people who are in Catalonia, also of the people who are passing through for tourism or business". The president of the Catalan Government has made this statement during the reception offered this afternoon at the consular corps accredited in Catalonia, where he said that "today the pandemic puts us back in an extremely complex situation to which we are devoting all efforts and we are applying all necessary measures to reverse as quickly as possible this new wave”.

As President Aragonès explained during his speech, he placed vaccination as a horizon that "allows us to look at this year with economic perspectives that assure us that the economy is advancing and that this year it will grow by 6%". In this sense, the head of the Executive has recalled that "Catalonia has always been a land of welcome and encounter" and has bet to turn it also into "a land of opportunities".

The President of the Catalan Government placed special emphasis on the need to promote the "resolution of the differences between Catalonia and Spain" and recalled that "we want to resolve it through dialogue and negotiation" and with "an unequivocal commitment to democracy and freedom". The head of the Executive highlighted the transforming will of the Government and the importance of the Next Generation European funds to promote "a social, green, feminist and democratic transformation" based on the economy for life.

For her part, the Minister of External Action and Open Government, Victoria Alsina, has conveyed to the consular representatives the main priorities of the Government in terms of external action, which include the creation of a consular hub "to strengthen the service we offer them in all areas" and to "strengthen the network of delegations abroad". "The Catalan Government has competence in external action, as stated in the Statute since 2009, and we intend to continue promoting it to connect Catalonia to the world and the world in Catalonia", she said.

Councilor Alsina also informed to the consular representatives that the Government "is working to achieve the amnesty and to be able to exercise the right to self-determination". These demands, she recalled, "have been ratified by the recommendations of the Council of Europe", which are "an important political victory". "The Government believes in the institutional path to resolve the conflict and we are working to make it happen", she affirmed.