The former mp of the Republican Left in Congress, Alfred Bosch is from the Friday, minister of Foreign Action of the Generalitat. It takes the baton of Ernest Maragall, now a candidate for mayor of Barcelona, whose management is focused on the re-opening of the eight delegations of the Government in the outside closed by the PP Government under article 155 of the Constitution. Bosch aims to expand the ‘embassies Catalan’ to Asia and Latin America.
The first steps of the delegations of new stamp is approved, in fact, this past Tuesday at the weekly meeting of the Executive of the Catalan language. The Government passed the decrees to open six offices, of which there were not those of Beirut (the mediterranean zone), Stockholm (with scope in the nordic countries and replaces the one that was in Copenhagen) and Riga (for the baltic nations).
The plans designed during the term of the exconsejero Raül Romeva, in custody and awaiting trial for the alleged crime of rebellion, which include getting to Seoul, Mexico CITY or Buenos Aires, possibly in 2019. Last year, the government allocated 18 million euros to meet their external relations.
The delegations of new creation (there are planned 14) still do not have the structure nor responsible. In fact, in the past, offices have been created that never came to be implemented, as for example of the Holy see, who announced the own Romeva in 2015 and never saw the light. According to the decree, its function is “to promote and coordinate the bilateral relations with the authorities [the State concerned] as well as with other governments, decentralized in the scope of the powers of the Generalitat”.
The plan of “restitution” of the offices was one Betgaranti of the pillars of the discourse loyalist of the president of the Generalitat Quim Torra. Only up to last September were able to re-open in London and Berlin. The strategy of external action, however, has met with the opposition of the Foreign minister, Josep Borrell. Initially, their objections were more of a formal nature, but now claiming again the political role of those offices.
Objections of Borrell
last July, the socialist minister argued that the first wave of embassies re-opened (United Kingdom, Germany, united States, Italy, France and Switzerland) did not report perceptual on the part of Outside in, which explains what will be its function. The case is in the courts, because the government understands that as it was a re-opening is not needed to do the procedure.
External Action itself requested the report for the second batch. And the answer given by the Ministry is clear. Borrell argues its refusal that “the recent experience shows that these delegations, together with the Diplocat, have been a fundamental instrument to try the internationalization of the procés, spreading the thesis of the secesionismo and denigrating the international image of Spain”.
The Estatut determines the competences of Catalonia in the field outside, as the other autonomous communities. However, the deployment of the delegations Catalan intensifies after the start of the procés, in 2012. The arguments now put forward by Borrell are identical to those that led to the former minister of Foreign affairs Alfonso Dastis to close them during the intervention of the Catalan selfgovernment. Only the Brussels office continued.
After getting to the Government, Maragall totalled 1.3 million euros the cost of dismantling its network of embassies. There are recorded, for example, having to cancel the contracts of rental or compensation of 33 people fired.
The Catalan government initially chose to keep in the charge to the delegates as requested. Such is the case of the ba in Political Science Manuel Manonelles in the Geneva office or exresponsable of the strategy of ICT of the government of catalonia, Sergi Marcén, in London.
In other cases, External Action, took the opportunity to convene competitions of merit for choosing the responsible of the new offices and try to soften his political image. To Washington, for example, was appointed to Victòria Alsina, doctor in Political Sciences of the University Pompeu Fabra and a researcher at Tandon School of Engineering of New York University. To Paris he was elected Daniel Camós, phd in Economics from the Paris School of Economics.
