Govt, separatists to work on solution for Catalonia

Spain’s prime minister and the leader of Catalonia emerged from a meeting yesterday with an agreement to find a solution to the political crisis that has festered since the region’s failed secession attempt last year.

Following the talks in the Catalan city of Barcelona between Spanish leader Pedro Sanchez and Catalan head Quim Torra, their governments issued a joint statement calling for dialogue to settle the fight.

The statement said the central and regional governments recognise there was a conflict over Catalonia’s future. But, it added, ‘‘Despite the notable differences about its origin, nature and ways of resolution, they share, above all, the commitment for effective dialogue that is linked to a political proposal that has the backing of large part of Catalan society.’’

The two sides also agreed to have members of their governments meet again in January.

The Spanish and Catalan governments have been at odds since the Catalan Parliament issued an ineffective declaration of independence last year, which was ruled unconstitutional by the courts and led to a temporary takeover of regional affairs by Spanish authorities. Several leaders of the secession movement were jailed.

Sanchez and Torra sat down for the first time last July in an initial step by the Spanish prime minister to mend relations with Catalonia’s separatist leaders since they both took power earlier this year.

Their second meeting took place in Barcelona’s Palau de Pedralbes, a former palace surrounded by walled gardens that once housed Spanish royalty.

Torra shook hands with Sanchez on his arrival and they spoke briefly as they walked into the building, which belongs to the regional government.

‘‘We all must open a new chapter, a chapter in which confrontation becomes concord,’’ Sanchez told a Catalan business forum at a nearby hotel shortly after seeing Torra. ‘‘Against the polarisation of society, cohesion. Against posturing and noise, dialogue, dialogue and dialogue.’’

Torra also attended the forum and said that ‘‘both governments share the idea of finding a democratic solution’’.

Despite the willingness shown by both sides to talk, neither hid how far apart they still are on agreeing to the way to resolve Spain’s worst political crisis in nearly three decades.

Catalan government spokeswoman Elsa Artadi told reporters after the meeting that Torra’s position remains that a legal binding referendum on independence is the answer.

Spain’s minister of territorial affairs, Meritxell Batet, said the federal government has not budged from its position that such a referendum is unconstitutional.

‘‘We are convinced that we can continue forward toward a political solution within the constitution,’’ Batet said. ‘‘The crisis we are going through won’t be solved in a short period of time.’’

The sit-down with Torra comes with Sanchez struggling to keep his minority government afloat. His Socialist Party was dealt a huge setback in regional elections earlier this month in southern Spain when opposition parties campaigned against his manoeuvres in Catalonia.–