Article published by the Catalan News Agency (CNA), March 30th 2016.
Photo: The Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Jordi Solé
Barcelona (CNA).- Three new Catalan government delegations will be opened during this term of office. According to the Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Jordi Solé, the new delegation in Lisbon will be in full operation “in the following months” while those planned for the Vatican City and Morocco are still pending deployment by the Government. Although these three new delegations have already been appealed by the Spanish Constitutional Court (TC), Solé insisted on the “key role” that these institutions play in Catalonia’s foreign affairs strategy and emphasised the government’s will to “continue deploying Catalonia’s institutional representation in the world”. The Catalan government already has seven delegations abroad, as well as three more projected in the short-term and some others to be opened in the near future.
When the 10 existing delegations are in full operation – seven are already working and the three in Portugal, the Vatican City and Morocco – there will be new ones”, stated Solé. “We are looking for the right place, moment and sequence” he added. Thus, the government will “continue to deploy Catalonia’s institutional representation in the world”.
According to Catalan Minister for Foreign Affairs Raül Romeva’s right-hand man, the government “needs to reinforce the existing delegations” whose task is “indispensable for both the government and the country”.
Portugal, Vatican City and Morocco already approved
Besides these plans for the near future within this term of office, the government wants to launch the three delegations which have already been announced and created by decree. “One of these, Lisbon’s, will be in full operation within its own space in the following months” stated Solé. He added that this delegation has already “a delegate who acts as such” and the only thing left to do is “open the headquarters”.
Regarding the Vatican City and Morocco, Solé stated that “there are no delegates nominated yet” and the delegations haven’t been deployed yet. “The government is studying how to proceed on these two delegations” he added.
Map of the Catalan delegations in the world
Catalonia is already present in seven countries worldwide. There are Catalan government delegations in the UK (which also covers representation to Ireland), Germany, Italy, Austria, France (which also covers Switzerland), in Brussels and in the US (which also covers Canada and Mexico).
The TC’s actions against Catalonia’s Foreign Affairs strategy
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