On the eve of the much-anticipated meeting in Barcelona between the heads of the Catalan and Spanish executives, Carles Puigdemont has told reporters what message he'd like to hear from Pedro Sánchez and Quim Torra when the meeting is over.
As he has done many times before, the exiled Catalan leader has challenged the Spanish prime minister to commit to "a self-determination referendum".
"A message that Pedro Sánchez had agreed to a new referendum, that would be a commitment that both sides would benefit from," said Puigdemont, while waiting for his new fellow MEP Clara Ponsatí outside the European Parliament today. Puigdemont stated that all Catalan president Torra can do is to "defend the programme of the Catalan government as approved by Parliament" in the meeting with Sanchez. "I have full confidence that president Torra will defend the interests of all Catalans," he said.