2023-10-22 17:48:47
Has the expert council finished its work?
— We have finished the work and submitted a report on the five questions that the Government asked us. We have made ourselves available to explain its content at the party table and wherever the Government deems appropriate.
Should the Spanish government read the report?
— Yes, it should be read inside and outside of Catalonia. Inside, it should be read by the party table and citizens interested in the conflict. Outside, we would like the big Spanish parties to take a look. And also the Spanish government, why not? It is a report made so that it has recourse.
And that it was used for the dialog table?
— Yes, but it is not a legal report of a specific path, nor is it a road map. It is the joint response of an enormously plural council of academics on an agreed path in relation to the conflict. The report wants to make a map of options, to offer a language of encounter, a minimum consensus on a conflict regarding which academics have different positions, also on its nature.
Should he enter into the negotiation of the investiture?
— It is not a conflict that can be resolved in 20 days. We would not like the reading of the report to end with the investiture. It is a report designed for the long term.
Which of the five paths do you see as the most feasible in the current context?
— It is not up to us to make an assessment of which way to go. The more legitimacy and the more political actors who agree, the more feasible it will be. All avenues can help resolve the conflict. Now, with warnings such as that the referendum is not a solution in itself but it is to the extent that it is a mechanism within an agreement, and that the paths that include a referendum throughout the State can lead to the deadlock in function of how they are organized. It would be advisable for the State’s participation to be indirect, through its president or its Parliament, and not through a direct vote of its citizens.
Therefore, it would be better not to hold a referendum throughout the State.
— I would not speak in those terms. It would be desirable if it were an asymmetric participation. The statewide referendum may be on a different question. Or it may be of a different nature from that of Catalonia. It could be a closing referendum where Catalonia has decided the path it wants to take. In the agreed upon way, there is an obligation to negotiate, that is the spirit of the Canadian Supreme Court.
But what happens if the other party, the Spanish state, refuses to recognize a referendum or an agreed solution?
— It encourages unilateralism.
Point out that a mediator could intercede. who could it be
— There would be two options: state or international personalities of prestige recognized by both parties, or also the European Union. We do not place great hopes or enormous optimism in the European Union, but perhaps it is the most suitable institution.
You also refer to the obstacle of the Constitutional Court.
— A very problematic issue is jurisprudence. The whole report hangs on the spirit of the Canadian opinion. With ruling 42/2014 on the declaration of sovereignty, which is the beginning of the Process, the TC responds curiously with a reference to the Canadian opinion, and adds that the conflict will have to go through political channels. The rest of the court’s pronouncements are about unilateral acts.
Can the jurisprudence change?
— Jurisprudence can change, with a TC that is not the same. It has changed in many subjects that no one had thought about and with the Constitution itself.
But if the other side does not want to agree?
— The conflict worsens. Actors feel frustrated and this triggers one-sidedness. The alternative to the agreed path is non-agreement and this happens through the freezing of the conflict. Or it gets stuck sine the or one of the two actors takes unilateral steps and resolves the situation fait accompli.
On a comparative level, does the unilateral way encourage dialogue?
— It depends a lot on the context. We do not rate it in the report.
Of your five proposals, Aragonès opted for the one he was already defending. Are you disappointed?
– No. The times have been amazing, very fast. It’s politics, you know. But this should not make us lose the opportunity to have the same discussion that we have had. It can also be looked at from another point of view: that the Government wants to go to the party table with its option and not without any proposal.
Has a party contacted you?
— No, but we are at the disposal of the party table and, if necessary, of the rest of the State.
For the report to have appeal, is it key that the PSC values it?
— It is key, and together. It is key that the political actors who currently have the most legitimacy in Parliament can make the report their own.
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