The Council for the Republic will be officially presented on 30th October in the Catalan government palace. The announcement was made today by the president in exile, Carles Puigdemont, who will lead the body to be managed by minister in exile Antoni Comín. This was the main conclusion of today's meeting between pro-independence parties and organisations in Waterloo.
Translation: With president Puigdemont and minister Comín announcing the presentation of the Council for the Republic on 30th October in the Catalan government palace. Thanks to ERC, PDeCAT, JuntsxCat, Demòcrates, ANC[ Catalan National Assembly], Òmnium, AMI [Association of Municipalities for Independence] and ACM [Catalan Association of Municipalities] for the meeting. One of the key parts of the legislature agreement.
Present at the meeting were presidents Quim Torra and Carles Puigdemont, government spokesperson Elsa Artadi, and representatives of the main pro-independence parties, except for CUP. The far-left party refused to take part, believing it to be in order to "talk about.
JxCat were represented by their spokesperson, Albert Batet, ERC by their spokesperson in the Catalan Parliament, Sergi Sabrià, and minister Comín, and PDeCAT by Míriam Nogueras.
At the end of the meeting, which took place in Hôtel Côté Vert, Puigdemont announced that the presentation of the council will take place in Catalonia on 30th October, three days after the first anniversary of the proclamation of the republic in the Catalan Parliament. In comments to the media in Waterloo, Puigdemont said that the new body "is born under the cover of institutions recovered after the coup d'état of article 155 with the involvement of an illegitimately dismissed government, now in exile, which is internationalising the Catalan democratic cause".
For his part, president Torra expressed regret that CUP should have distanced itself from the project and said that they'll work towards them joining in too eventually, to reinforce pro-independence unity. "We hope that between now and 30th October we convince them of the need to be there," he said.
Finally, Comín argued that "the Council for the Republic is one of the essential tools to deploy the Republic, given that there would be no balance if the legislature should move forward only based on the institutions of the Catalan government and social mobilisation".
The Council for the Republic was meant to be presented in March, but had to be delayed due to Puigdemont's arrest in Germany. Now, with Puigdemont's return to Belgium and the start of the new political year, it's picked up speed again.
The council is a private body, presenting itself as a government in exile. It is to hold periodic meetings and coordinate with the Catalan government involved in the political decisions taken in Waterloo. It also has to be a key part of the internationalisation process of the Catalan issue.