The Spanish government has stopped an international project seeking to prepare technologically for the future: the 5G Mediterranean Corridor. Catalunya Ràdio reports that the Spanish foreign ministry prevented the ceremony to sign the project from going ahead. The 5G Corridor is a joint effort between the Catalan digital policy ministry and the French region of Occitanie, supported by the European Commission.
The project was to have been formally signed off in Bucharest, Romania, this June. The ceremony was to have been attended by Catalan digital policy minister Jordi Puigneró, the vice-president of Occitanie and European Commission officials. According to sources from the digital policy ministry, the Spanish foreign ministry asked the European Commission to suspend the ceremony.
The minister has said that the foreign ministry called the European Commission and "blocked" the signing of the agreement. "They don't eat nor let us eat", said Puigneró literally, adding that the ministry, headed by Josep Borrell, is "obsessed" with Catalonia.
The Spanish government argues the text must reference the "Kingdom of Spain" every time it references the Catalan government. It also wants to substitute the words "the two parts" for "the two signatories" or "the two regions" and the words "both countries" for "both regions or signatories". They say this is "to avoid confusions". They also disagree with using the term "ministry" in English to describe the institution headed by Puigneró, suggesting it should be called an "office" or "department" instead.
Spain also argues, in its letter to the Catalan ministry above, that the latter party does not enjoy some of the necessary powers to see such a project through to completion.