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Brussels has been, for over a month, the news capital of Catalonia. The presence in Belgium of Catalan president Carles Puigdemont and four of his ministers, since Monday 30th October, has set it as not just the capital of the European community it remains, but also as the city in which almost half the Catalan government has taken refuge, fleeing from Spanish justice. Puigdemont and ministers Toni ComínClara PonsatíMeritxell Serret and Lluís Puig speak from Brussels on an almost daily basis. And Brussels has also been the city where the action of the Belgian courts has made Spanish justice back down, having to withdraw the European Arrest Warrant as there were enough clues that Belgium was only going to accept the five Catalan officials been extradited to Spain to face trial in the Supreme Court for disobedience.

But, moreover, Brussels will this Wednesday be the focus of international news for an event as completely exceptional as dozens of thousands of Catalans heading from all corners of the country to attend a demonstration in the centre of the city calling for the European institutions to show greater sensitivity to the Catalan issue. Pro-independence organisations ANC and Òmnium called the event under a banner of Europe wake up! Help Catalonia, aiming for it to be the largest pro-independence rally outside of Catalonia and one of the most important held in Brussels. Also, for it to be an event which reactivates those sectors who have been disconcerted, angry or irritated after the Catalan republic didn't materialise.

The independence movement, used to overcoming incredible challenges in the streets, wants to bring about something unusual in the heart of Europe. At a time when many are predicting a retirement, a consequence in part of unprecedented media harassment, the mobilisation is a new stress test to show the movement's muscles. Its result and its impact will also define whether it also acts as a catalyst towards the upcoming Catalan elections on 21st December. The request for Europe to become more conscious of the issue, the defence of the freedoms lost through article 155 of the Spanish Constitution and the loss of autonomy are going to be pillars of the recently started election campaign and arguments to use to increase the pro-independence base which has seen its leaders exiled or sent to prison.

To travel to Brussels is also to bring back memories of the 1st October referendum, the protection of the ballot boxes, the voting and the repression. And it's a show of gratitude for the welcome the legal representatives of Catalonia have received and which has ended up getting on the nerves of Spanish authorities. It also involves giving thanks for the offers of free accommodation for Catalan demonstrators from hundreds of Flemish families, an offer reflected by numerous hostels with symbolic prices. But above all it's another demonstration of the strength of a cross-spectrum, winning movement. The resilience of Catalanism has allowed it to overcome great difficulties in its history and to rise up at times of great difficulty. The results of the 21st December election will end up showing the degree of defiance towards a situation imposed by Madrid.