Catalan president Carles Puigdemont called a cabinet meeting this morning to discuss their response to Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy's requirement they clarify the status of Tuesday's declaration of independence. The requirement is the first step to activating article 155 of the Spanish Constitution and revoking Catalan autonomy. This particular meeting, government sources have told El Nacional, is informal.
It's not the first time that the president has called his ministers together for such a meeting which, unlike a formal meeting of the executive, doesn't require formal minutes and can be attended by people not normally present at cabinet meetings.
At the government palace this morning were the vice-president, Oriol Junqueras and the ministers of the Interior, Joaquim Forn; Justice, Carles Mundó; Health, Toni Comín; Education, Clara Ponsatí; Work and Social Affairs, Dolors Bassa; Business, Santi Vila; and Governance, Meritxell Borràs. The minister for the Presidency, Jordi Turull, was already at the palace being his department's base.
Although the final response to Madrid's requirement is still being defined, today's meeting served to confirm the wish to explain Tuesday's statement in the same terms the president used in the Parliament, even sending a transcript of the speech translated into Spanish from Catalan, and to decide to not give the binary answer asked for by the Spanish executive. That said, nothing is finalised so far, as the Catalan government will use the full time is has been given to respond. The plan is to continue fleshing out the decision with new discussions through the weekend.
The Catalan government has until 10am on Monday morning to respond to the requirement and specify whether the independence of Catalonia was proclaimed in the Parliament on Tuesday. The message from Rajoy demands a yes or no answer. If the answer is yes, or too vague, Puigdemont will have until 10am on Thursday morning to revoke the declaration. If he doesn't, the central government will move to activate article 155 of the Constitution, which would allow them to intervene in Catalonia's self-government.
Pressure from both sides continues to build on the Catalan government. Both the CUP (Popular Unity Candidacy, a political party) and the ANC (Catalan National Assembly, a pro-independence organisation) have released statements calling for the suspension on the declaration of independence to be lifted. Meanwhile, Spanish deputy prime minister, Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría, underlined the negative effects she believes a secession process would have on the Catalan and Spanish economies in a press conference after today's central cabinet meeting.