This afternoon in Madrid, the Minister for Foreign Action and European Union, Meritxell Serret i Aleu, met with representatives of the Venice Commission, the advisory body of the Council of Europe that issues non-binding reports. The delegation of experts is currently in Spain, where it has held meetings with various stakeholders in order to prepare a report on the amnesty act. Serret has been tasked with conveying to the members of the Venice Commission the Catalan Government’s view of the amnesty act.

In a subsequent briefing following the meeting held at the Government Delegation to Madrid, the minister presented the main ideas conveyed during the meeting. “The amnesty is the necessary tool to move towards the second phase of political negotiation,” she said. The minister stated that negotiation was the only avenue for “bringing the conflict to the political sphere, which it should never have left”.

“The amnesty should enable us to progress towards a negotiation on equal terms,” she said. Furthermore, the minister added that the amnesty act responds to the recommendations of international bodies such as the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

Finally, Serret has described the meeting as an “opportunity” that has allowed the Government to position amnesty as “a legitimate tool, with broad and diverse democratic support, and one that is internationally recognised”.