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Change of tack by CSQP

CSQP spokesperson declares coalition is open to unilateral referendum on Catalan independence if it receives prior support from Venice Commission

The left-wing coalition Catalunya Sí Que es Pot (CSQP), which comprises the parties Iniciativa per Catalunya Verds (ICV), Esquerra Unida i Alternativa (EUiA), Podemos and Equo, yesterday abandoned the line it had followed on the referendum to date, for the first time stating it would not necessarily require a prior agreement with Spain.

The spokesperson for the eco-socialists, Joan Coscubiela, said the coalition would abandon its stance on one condition: that the referendum receive the prior endorsement of the Venice Commission, the Council of Europe's advisory body on constitutional affairs. “We urge the Catalan government to go to the Venice Commission to obtain the endorsement for holding the referendum, in whatever format”, Coscubiela said in yesterday's plenary session.

It is the first significant move in relation to the referendum by the group headed by Lluís Rabell, although it is still early to talk about conciliation with the pro-independence bloc. Coscubiela made the proposal fully aware that those backing the referendum cannot meet certain requirements established by the Venice Commission, such as it being backed by a statute, a Constitution or a law that has not been amended in the year prior to the holding of the vote.

Junts pel Sí chose to ignore that part of the gesture, however, and fervently applauded CSQP for finally abandoning its immobility and taking a “step forward.” “We welcome the CSQP agreeing to the holding of a referendum in Catalonia without permission from the Spanish state,” said JxSí parliamentary spokesperson and ERC general secretary Marta Rovira.

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