The Catalan presidency minister and government spokesperson, Elsa Artadi, has warned Pedro Sánchez's Spanish government that an agreement to enable a reform to the Constitution, as he proposed to eliminate aforamientos, also has to include Catalonia to "politically solve a political conflict". In Spain, aforamientos are a version of parliamentary privilege whereby members of the Congress and Senate, judges and various other groups are not tried by ordinary courts.
Sánchez released his proposal this Monday, as part of his evaluation of his first hundred days in office. Specific details will only be given after this Friday's cabinet meeting, which Artadi referred to in her press conference today to postpone giving a firm position.
Asked whether any reform would have to include the right to self-determination, she replied that it is an "inalienable" right. That said, being asked on the same question again, she insisted that the Catalan executive believes a referendum to fit within the current text of the Constitution.
"Beyond reforms, we want to understand what a political solution means for Catalonia," she said. She joked that, if an express reform is possible for aforamientos, it should also be possible for other topics and, if the reform is undertaken, it has to include "core aspects for Catalan and Spanish politics".
Artadi also responded to statements by Spanish foreign minister Josep Borrell that reopening the Catalan government's delegations abroad affects Spain's image, saying that what's harmed the image of Spain is the government's actions over the last year.
In relation to the suspension of parliamentary deputies under investigation for their involvement in last year's referendum, Artadi admitted there's still no agreement between the pro-independence parties about how to respond. "They're proposing a solution to us which isn't exactly what the Parliament's rules say, and which isn't up to us," she said.
Likewise, she expressed regret over the possibility that their trial could be delayed to the end of the year, as some reports have suggested, saying that such changes to expectations create insecurity because they put into question the right to defence. "If it's true that they're thinking based on the electoral calendar, it would give greater weight to the argument about the lack of judicial independence," she added.
Asked about the large Spanish nationalist demonstration which had to change route on Sunday due to a pro-independence counter-protest, she noted that the change was agreed with the organisers. "A very large majority of demonstrations don't create any problems", she replied, emphasising the efficiency of the security forces and the response from the Catalan public.