- Both Ministers agree on a document of methodology and guarantee to protect the negotiation process and relations between governments
- The new conditions involve three issues: stopping the judicial path and repression towards the independence movement, rebuilding trust and having a methodological agreement and guarantees
- Vilagrà stresses that until there are specifics in the dejudicialization file, relations cannot be "normalized or resumed" between the two governments.
The next meeting of the President of the Generalitat, Pere Aragonès, and the President of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchez, will take place on the morning of Friday, July 15 in Madrid. This was agreed today by the Minister of the Presidency, Laura Vilagrà, and the Minister of the Presidency, Félix Bolaños, who met by delegation of the two presidents at the Palau de la Generalitat.
The meeting also agreed on a methodology document, which includes formal aspects and guarantees to protect the negotiation process. The Minister has specified that it is a type of document "common in the processes of negotiating political conflicts at an international level" and a "first result" in order to "consolidate a framework in which the different options to resolve the political conflict can be expressed and evaluated". "It was an essential document after the Catalangate crisis, which stopped the negotiation process, and that was absolutely necessary to resume the negotiation" stressed Vilagrà, who added that the Spanish government "knew that without guarantees we could not go on".
The new conditions involve three issues that will have to be worked on in the coming months: stop the judicial process and the repression towards the independence movement, rebuild trust with reference to results, and have a methodological agreement and guarantees. This third issue was addressed today "but it is still necessary to delve into the issue of stopping judicialization as well as rebuilding trust", two elements without which Vilagrà has said that we cannot "normalize or resume relations" and that will be discussed at Friday's meeting between the two heads of government.
The minister has described the agreement reached as a "clear defence, again, of negotiation as a way of way of resolving the political conflict between Spain and Catalonia, working from respect, the legitimacy of the different actors and, therefore, guaranteeing the security of the parties to be able to establish a certain confidence for the negotiation".
The document argues that the judicialization of conflict must be ended and, therefore, makes a commitment to the political path to resolve the conflict in a democratic way. "The document shows that we must continue to move forward with firm steps and what happens this July and the coming months will be very relevant" said Vilagrà. The document explicitly states respect for political and ideological approaches, the legitimacy of all options, because "only then can negotiate on an equal footing."
On the other hand, the document states that proposals must be made and solutions to political conflict must be sought in a proactive manner. Measures will have to be deepened to improve confidence and "today both parties have committed to go in this direction" said the head of the Presidency.