Spanish premier, Catalan leader reach 5 new agreements

By Alyssa McMurtry

OVIEDO, Spain (AA) - Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez met Catalonia's left-wing separatist President Pere Aragones in Barcelona on Thursday, marking their first formal meeting since June 2022.

Despite tensions between Madrid and Barcelona, Aragones’ separatist party ERC backed Sanchez’s government after recent elections in exchange for amnesty for Catalan separatists and more regional autonomy.

Thursday’s meeting furthered that cooperation, with the two leaders reaching five new agreements.

One of the most striking moves was the announcement that Spain will pass a new law to “protect and foster” the country's co-official languages such as Catalan, Sanchez said.

They also agreed to hold the fourth meeting of the so-called “dialogue table,” created to reduce tensions around Catalonia’s desire to split from Spain.

The leaders also agreed to give Catalonia the power to manage welfare payments and rail services, as well as to jointly promote a new semiconductor technology center.

“I think what we need to do is to move forward an agreement that reinforces Catalonia’s self-governance. Within this framework, we can talk about a lot of things,” said Sanchez.

Earlier in the day, however, Sanchez ruled out an independence referendum in Catalonia, something that Aragones publicly supports.

Speaking to broadcaster Rac1, Sanchez said not only is a referendum “unconstitutional” but it would also be “counterproductive.”

“We are trying to overcome the damage that was done in the past,” said Sanchez, referring to the events around the illegal independence referendum and failed unilateral declaration of independence in 2017.

“If the separatists only talk about referendums, it’s really tough to move forward,” he added.