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generalitat foreign delgations

Catalonia extends its reach abroad

With the appointment of delegates to the government's latest two foreign delegations in Vienna and Rome the objective of half a hundred international offices comes ever nearer

An independent Catalonia would need some 50 foreign delegations strategically placed around the world. At least this is what the Catalan government estimates would be necessary, according to Roger Albinyana, the secretary of foreign affairs. Albinyana was speaking last month during the presentation of the new foreign delegates who have been appointed to head two of the government's recently-opened foreign delegations, in Rome and in Vienna. The two foreign offices will be added to those that already exist, in Brussels -for which a new EU liaison post has been taken up by Amadeu Altafaj (see interview on next page)- Paris, Berlin, London and Washington, which also has a branch in New York.

In fact, the Catalan government has plans to further expand its network of foreign delegations during 2015. The expansion will take place progressively, so that each opening can be studied in detail and, naturally, depending on what the budget allows. The first phase of the expansion involved forging contacts with consuls, ambassadors and governments and now the second stage will consist of opening new offices, with priority given to EU member states and Asia.

Economy and culture

The two officials appointed to head the Vienna and Rome offices are Adam Casals and Luca Bellizzi, respectively. The office in the Austrian capital will also cover relations with the neighbouring countries of Slovenia, Croatia, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, and both delegations will be responsible for maintaining direct contact with the respective authorities and defending the interests of Catalans living in their areas of influence. Other objectives of the foreign delegations is promoting the international profile of the Catalan economy as well as the country's language and culture.

Bellizzi has a doctorate in political science from Milan University and until now was the executive director of a real estate company. He is also a member of Convergència's department of international relations as well as head of the financial committee of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Group. Meanwhile, Casals is an authority on strategy and communications in international relations, with a speciality in German-speaking and central European countries. He is also the joint author of Barcelona's Llibre Blanc, an official document made for the public that collates reports on the viability of Catalonia's national transition.

PP to veto foreign delegations

Mariano Rajoy's government is determined to veto the opening of Catalonia's planned foreign delegations in Vienna and Rome, says deputy prime minister, Sáenz de Santamaría, who also suggested that the government would resort to the constitutional high court to prevent further expansion of the network of offices abroad. In her eagerness to inform the press about the government's determination last month, De Santamaría made the mistake of saying that the state prosecutor had already taken action, only to correct herself, saying a possible infringement of the constitution was being studied. Santamaría also said: “The autonomous communities can take action abroad, but that never supposes an invasion of the state's right to conduct foreign policy.” Rajoy's deputy reiterated: “There is an important premise: foreign policy corresponds to the government of the nation.” / David Portabella

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