A new warning from the Spanish Olympic Committee after Aragon exploded all the bridges for a joint candidacy with Catalonia for the 2030 Winter Games. After weeks of negotiations and having reached an initial technical agreement, the Javier Lambán government of Aragon has ended up rejecting the proposals made by the Olympic Committee, with the argument that the candidacy is not balanced across the two territories. Amidst the complaints and accusations, the body has already opened up to prepare a solo candidacy with Catalonia and today its president, Alejandro Blanco, confirmed that if no agreement is reached, it will have to choose one of the two territories. Blanco used these terms after an extraordinary assembly of the COE at which it unanimously decided to follow the path of dialogue to try to save the joint candidacy, although this, with the attitude of Lambán, has everything against it. If this is not achieved, each territory will be able to present its candidacy and the COE will choose one, opening the door to direct competition between the two governments.
Blanco, however, assured that before reaching this situation in which they will be forced to choose, the COE "will try with all its might" for the Catalan and Aragonese governments to reach an agreement. He therefore called for "continued dialogue" and said he would work to convene a new meeting with the two sides. However, the assembly of the COE voted unanimously to present a candidacy from the Pyrenees even if there is no agreement for it to be joint. Blanco said a joint candidacy would be "better", but defended the option if the blockade is maintained.
Lambán continues to criticise
This morning, just hours before Blanco opened the door to a face-off between the two Pyrenean territories for Spain's Olympic candidacy, Javier Lambán returned to the charge, assuring that his government has not had a "real option "to negotiate the candidacy neither with the COE nor with the government of Spain. A few days ago, the Aragonese president said that behind the technical proposal that awarded the skiing to Catalan ski stations there were political and not sporting reasons. Now, he calls on both institutions to speak to him as soon as possible to defend their position. According to him, this is "common sense". Going further, he told the media that "a year later, I never know if we are at a standstill, moving forward, backward or slowing down."
Plea to Aragon
After the break-up of the negotiations, Alejandro Blanco took on a dialogue role and decided to appear to explain his version of events. If last Monday, after the news broke that Aragon was leaving the negotiations, he assured that he would present a proposal based on a "technically unbeatable project", on Wednesday he decided to offer the olive branch to Lambán again and resume negotiations, despite making some critiques of his own: "I will reopen talks with all parties who want to participate to try to reach a consensus on an Olympic candidacy for 2030."