Understanding and agreement between Spanish prime minister, Mariano Rajoy, and leader of the opposition, Pedro Sánchez, at the Moncloa government palace this Tuesday. They held a 50-minute meeting to discuss how to respond to Quim Torra's investiture and his promise, as 131st president of Catalonia, to construct "a republic for all". The two politicians, agreed to offer a "negotiated and proportional" response given their rejection of Torra looking to set up "structures distinct from the only valid ones" as defined by the Spanish Constitution and the Catalan Statute of Autonomy.
"Given the situation created with the investiture of the new president of Catalonia, his confrontational political rhetoric and the xenophobic character of his public statements, the Spanish government, the Partido Popular and the Partido Socialista have committed to offering a negotiated, proportional response to the defence of the constitutional and statutory law in the face of any potential challenge", they said in a joint press statement. It's expected, as such, that article 155 of the Spanish Constitution would be brought back into force if Torra were to act beyond the law.
Secondly, PP and PSOE have agreed that the "monitoring of the observance of the law" should be extended to the public resources which form the Catalan government's budget "to guarantee they're destined to the general interest aims they're provided for". Such monitoring has been taking place since the decision taken by the Delegate Committee for Economic Affairs in 2015 regarding almost monthly oversight of the Regional Liquidity Fund.
The two traditionally largest parties, however, don't miss the opportunity to visibly corner Ciudadanos and the party's leader, Albert Rivera, with whom Rajoy will meet this Thursday at 9:30am. "This agreement is open to all the constitutionalist political parties which supported the application of article 155 of the Constitution, which allowed for the repair of the law infringed by the previous government of Catalonia. Likewise, it's open to any other political party which wants to show its commitment to our institutions and the observance of the law".
Abordo con @sanchezcastejon la situación en Cataluña. Diálogo y sentido de Estado para seguir defendiendo los derechos de todos los españoles. pic.twitter.com/J8XYNazEoV
— Mariano Rajoy Brey (@marianorajoy) 15 de mayo de 2018
Translation: I'm addressing the situation in Catalonia with Pedro Sánchez. Dialogue and statesmanship to continue defending the rights of all Spaniards.