2024-03-06 07:43:33
An agreement between the Socialist Party of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and the Catalan separatists of Carles Puigdemont on the text of an amnesty bill is “close”, said the spokesperson for the Spanish government on Tuesday.
“Nothing is settled until everything is settled, but the agreement is close,” Pilar Alegría said at a press briefing, adding, however, that caution was needed.
Pedro Sánchez had committed to having such a measure voted on by Parliament, in exchange for the support of the seven deputies of Junts per Catalunya (JxCat, Together for Catalonia), the party of Carles Puigdemont, at the time of its renewal in November 2023 at the head of the Spanish government for a new four-year term.
The amnesty should benefit all people convicted or prosecuted for their role in the failed secession attempt of Catalonia in 2017. That year, a referendum on the independence of Catalonia, banned by the Spanish courts, was organized by Catalan activists, who then sought to proclaim the territory’s secession based on the results of this election.
A “constitutional” amnesty
Carles Puigdemont, who led this unilateral attempt at independence, left Spain to escape Spanish justice and has since lived in exile in Belgium. In the absence of an amnesty, he would be immediately arrested if returned to Spain.
A first bill, submitted by the socialists, was rejected on January 30 by the deputies, due to the vote against representatives of JxCat, who considered that the text did not go far enough and risked not benefiting everyone involved, starting with Carles Puigdemont.
The failure of this vote resulted in the text being sent back to the Congressional Justice Commission, which has until March 7 to come up with a new text.
Pilar Alegría said the commission was due to meet on Thursday at 11:00 a.m. (10:00 GMT). If there is agreement between the socialists and JxCat, the committee will then be able to adopt the new text, which will then have to be submitted to the vote of the deputies. The spokesperson for the Spanish government added that this amnesty law would be “constitutional” and “in accordance with European law”.
By Le360 (with AFP)
03/06/2024 at 7:38 a.m.
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