Under mounting pressure, Catalonia’s leader shifts ground, opens door to dialogue

As pressure continues to mount for a halt to independence move, Catalonia’s leader, Carles Puigdemont stated Tuesday that although he accepted the “mandate of the people” for the region to become “an independent republic,” he was ready to delay the implementation of the mandate while dialogue took place.

“I assume the mandate of the people for Catalonia to become an independent republic”, he told Catalan lawmakers, but asked parliament to “suspend the independence declaration to initiate dialogue in the coming weeks.”

Catalonia’s push for independence has been met by aggression from the Spanish government backed by European powers.

Read also: France, Germany voice support as pressure mounts on Catalan leader to drop move for independence

The threat to Catalonia following their much-resisted referendum has come from several quarters including the business sphere, where several major businesses headquartered in the economically prosperous region have threatened to move out of the region.

The Spanish government and the European Union will welcome this development as a step towards to resolving an issue with significant threat to the broader European interest.

 

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