The motion on Catalonia being considered in the German Bundestag, presented by left-wing party Die Linke, has caused disquiet in Madrid. Authorities are passing the responsibility for responding from one to the other.
According to the newspaper El País, this is why Spain has not yet offered any reaction from Madrid. The paper reports that the Spanish government asked Congress leadership days ago to send a letter of protest to their counterparts in the Bundestag, to argue that the Catalan issue is an internal matter. The lower chamber's governing Board, however, headed by Ana Pastor (PP), refused, arguing that it's the responsibility of outgoing foreign minister Josep Borrell. The Congress adds that, with the changeover following last month's election underway, it's a bad time to be taking action on such a delicate matter.
The back-and-forth between the Spanish government and Congress has lasted two weeks. Indeed, it went so far as for a draft of the possible letter to be written, but this has so far remained unsent. From the government side, next week the head of agency Global Spain, Irene Lozano, will travel to Berlin to meet foreign ministry and Bundestag representatives.
So far, however, the only reaction from Spain has been for its ambassador in Germany to send a letter to the German Parliament criticising the motion, which had been received positively by the Catalan president and ministers in exile. "I'd like to avoid the German Bundestag acting on the basis of fake news of manipulated half-truths, which are looking to damage Spain's reputation and its status as a democratic country under the rule of law," the ambassador wrote.