The three Catalan MEPs for the Junts party, Carles Puigdemont, Toni Comín and Clara Ponsatí, are preparing to open a parliamentary office in Barcelona's El Born neighbourhood, as has been announced in a tweet from their European Parliament grouping, Junts i Lliures per Europa.
It will be a street-level premises, which any citizen will be able to visit and seek assistance from. "The office will be open to the public and from time to time we will hold events in which we connect from Brussels or Strasbourg," the three exiled MEPs have said in the tweet.
Puigdemont currently has his own office in Barcelona, due to his status as one of Catalonia's former presidents, all of whom are provided with an office and support team by the government. President Puigdemont's office is located in the Palau Centelles, in the Barri Gòtic, and its director is Josep Lluís Alay, who is also the subject of an intense campaign of lawfare.
The new parliamentary office announced, which will be opened in an El Born location near the Fossar de les Moreres, will be part of the MEPs' activity in the European Parliament and will have the support of the European Parliament. It is a common dynamic in many countries for MPs to have such electorate offices whose intention is to facilitate direct contact with voters.
Puigdemont has never hidden his desire for his presence in the European Parliament to allow him to become a representative who can explain the Catalan independence process across Europe and around the world and denounce the state's repression.
This initiative will also promote contact with Catalan society and its voters, through an office located in an emblematic place in the city.
The announcement of the new office comes just five days after his arrest in the Sardinian city of L'Alguer put Puigdemont back on the front pages. It is also five days until he returns to Sardinia as a consequence of that arrest, to appear before the judge of the Court of Appeal of Sassari, who release him without any bail measures, considering that the European Arrest Warrant issued by Spanish judge Pablo Llarena is not active.
In the main image, MEPs Toni Comín, Carles Puigdemont and Clara Ponsatí during a press conference in the European Parliament / EFE