The spokesperson for Junts in Congress, Míriam Nogueras, has announced that her group will again register this Wednesday in the Lower House the bill to transfer to the Generalitat the powers in immigration matters, and that this time it will do so without parliamentary partners.
In an interview on "Catalunya Ràdio" reported by Europa Press, she defended that "Catalonia urgently needs to be able to make its own decisions and to be the one that answers to the citizens for the decisions that the Government of Catalonia makes and not for the decisions that are made 600 kilometers away."
The initiative recovers the text that at the time Junts did manage to reach consensus with the PSOE, but introduces changes regarding that first version that faced rejection from Podemos, focused on the statement of reasons. Nogueras has specified that the wording is "exactly the same," while the part that generated friction has been removed.
The project maintains that Catalonia assumes the authorization of temporary residence for migrant people and long-term stays, as well as the issuance of identity documents for foreigners. It also contemplates that the Mossos d'Esquadra share with the National Police and the Civil Guard the security tasks in ports and airports located in Catalan territory.
The statement of reasons is eliminated with the aim of avoiding a new veto from Podemos, which labeled Junts' initial proposal as racist. According to Nogueras, "right now there is no excuse not to vote yes, because that part that they at the time said bothered them is no longer there."
The leader of Junts has not wanted to clarify whether there is a prior agreement with the PSOE to promote this proposal, although she has emphasized that "this is one of the issues that remains pending and they know it," and has pointed out that they have not maintained contacts with Podemos regarding this.
She has defended that they act out of responsibility in the face of the inaction of the central and Catalan executives: "As we believe that citizens cannot wait any longer and that our responsibility is to make decisions in the face of the non-decisions that neither the Govern nor the Socialist Party Government is making, we do it ourselves."
Nogueras has urged Podemos to define its position and has pointed out that it will "see" if it remains aligned with PP and Vox "voting against this delegation of powers for Catalonia or if it is willing to vote in favor." In his opinion, "facing a complex international situation, with increasingly significant migratory movements (...), what we are convinced we cannot continue doing is improvising."
Sánchez and the crisis in Ceuta
Regarding the announcement by the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, to appear before Congress about the crisis in Ceuta, Nogueras believes it comes too late and has reproached that "the socialists are always late, but they are late in everything."
He has criticized the attitude of the head of the central Executive: "Everyone is starting to get very fed up with so much talk, so much showcase, so much mud, because in the end all this is mud," he stated, criticizing that Sánchez feels comfortable, he said, appearing sporadically "making it seem that nothing is happening."
Criticism of police action in the Elche-Barça
Nogueras has also assessed the police intervention prior to the match between Elche and Barça, in which independence flags were confiscated and a minor was detained, and has described it as "absolutely unacceptable."
He has condemned the silence of the President of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, and Sánchez in the face of these events: "While the Government fills its mouth with the defense of human rights and those of minors, it seems that if the minor is Catalan and carries a stela, these rights disappear, as do Mr. Illa and Sánchez himself."
Furthermore, he has rejected that a tribute be paid this Thursday at Camp Nou to the world champion footballers: "Not only should there not be a recognition of the Spanish national team, when we have our Catalan national team that cannot play because the Government does not allow it, but there should be a recognition of brave people and especially of this kid who suffered this aggression."