Catalonia wants to inherit 3.300 international treaties from Spain

BarcelonaThe Catalan government is sifting through the 3,300 international treaties signed by Spain to incorporate them into the nation’s new legal framework, if Catalonia becomes independent. So said Catalan president Carles Puigdemont on last Sunday’s ‘Jo pregunto’ —a programme not unlike the BBC’s Question Time— on the Catalan language public TV station, during which he answered questions from members of the public. In one of the questions about the independence process, a political scientist from Manresa asked him about the sluggish progress in creating the necessary structures of statehood. Puigdemont replied that “they will be ready when the time comes to take the decision to become an independent country”.

To illustrate the complexity of developing such structures – “they concern every ministry” – Puigdemont referred to the international treaties. “There are 3,300 that will have to be adhered to. We have to have a definite, well thought through answer for each of these cases”, said Puigdemont. According to government sources, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, led by Raül Romeva, is in charge of studying all these cases.

The work of internationalisation itself was the topic of a second comment, too: “Europe understands unanimously that the referendum is the tool”, said Puigdemont, who admitted that for any vote to be readily accepted by the EU, it would have to be agreed with Madrid. “They know that the referendum will take place. Everyone has been informed”, he nonetheless warned. Puigdemont assured that the referendum must be carried out “to international standards” so that Europe will accept the result. Following comments from vice-president Oriol Junqueras, who had stated that people under 18 wouldn’t be able to vote, the president stated that, to organise the vote, “it will have to start from the electoral roll of the last time a ballot was held”.

Leisure and Tourism Centre

The public’s questions, however, weren’t just about the independence process. An unemployed young man from Camp de Tarragona complained that the government was opting for a “speculative” model with the planned large Leisure and Tourism Centre development near Tarragona, popularly known as BCN World. Puigdemont ruled out holding a local consultation, without the consensus of the executive –coalition partners ERC argued that the public should be asked. Puigdemont stated that the project generated “a very broad political consensus” and highlighted its virtues. “We can’t let an investment in the service sector slip through our fingers, it has to continue being the engine for our economy”.

On the subject of welfare policies, Puigdemont replied to criticisms about the cuts to education and healthcare by mentioning the 2017 draft budget. He highlighted the increase in the number of teachers which the new budget will provide for. He also responded to a headmaster’s criticism by speaking in support of state-funded private schools: “they help us to make the education model sustainable and to guarantee the equality of all students”. On healthcare, the president stressed that the budget prioritises “the things that need sorting most urgently”, like cutting waiting lists by half. As for housing —in response to a question from a woman who had moved into a vacant flat out of necessity— Puigdemont vowed to increase the availability of council flats, funding the scheme with the tax on vacant property.

TV3 auditioned 200 people to select the twelve members of the public who asked the questions on Sunday in Manresa’s Teatre Conservatori. The question that created the most controversy was from an 81-year old woman, who criticised the government for trying to “wipe out Spanish”. It was the most strained moment for Puigdemont, who was categorical: “In Catalonia everybody can speak Spanish, but there are those who can’t speak Catalan”.