Mariano Rajoy

Madrid to keep control of Catalonia if Puigdemont tries to govern remotely

Madrid - Muslimchronicle

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy warned Monday that Madrid would maintain unpopular direct control on Catalonia if the former regional leader Carles Puigdemont tries to be sworn in remotely from Belgian exile. Speaking to party members in Madrid, Rajoy said that Puigdemont had "to be physically present" in Catalonia to be sworn in, and if that didn't happen, the centralRead more

Spain PM rejects ousted Catalan leader's call to meet

Madrid - Muslimchronicle

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy on Friday rejected a call by ousted Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont to meet after separatists won a parliamentary majority in crucial regional polls. "The person I should be meeting with is with the one who won the elections, and that is Mrs Arrimadas," Rajoy said, replying to a journalist who asked whether he would respond to Puigdemont's invitation forRead more

Rajoy pledges economic boost if 'normalcy' returns to Catalonia

Madrid - AFP

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy pledged Saturday that the country's economic growth could reach three percent next year, well ahead of forecasts, if Catalonia returns to "normalcy" after the region's secessionist drive. At the height of the Catalan independence drive in mid-October, the central government in Madrid had lowered its 2018 growth forecast to 2.3 percent from 2.6 percent, aRead more

Spanish PM urges winners of Catalan elections to respect law

Madrid - Muslimchronicle

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy insisted on Wednesday that whoever wins the Catalan regional elections on Dec. 21 must "respect the law." Rajoy himself called the elections at the end of October after invoking article 155 of the Spanish Constitution, suspending the region's autonomy following the Oct. 27 declaration of independence in Catalonia. Pro-independence groups now view the new electionsRead more

Madrid, Catalan separatists spar over failed bid for EU agency

Madrid - Muslimchronicle

Spain's central government and Catalan separatists traded the blame Monday after Barcelona failed to be picked to host the European Medicines Agency, which is leaving London after Britain's decision to exit the EU. The conservative Popular Party (PP) of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said the capital of Catalonia, a region that has invested heavily in research and is home toRead more

Spain PM Rajoy calls on companies not to leave Catalonia

Barcelona - Muslimchronicle

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy on Sunday urged businesses not to abandon Catalonia after hundreds of firms moved their legal headquarters away as uncertainty over the region's independence drive drags on. On his first visit to Catalonia since his government took direct control of the region in response to lawmakers declaring independence, Rajoy asked "all businesses that work or haveRead more

Spain PM Rajoy calls on companies not to leave Catalonia

Barcelona - Muslimchronicle

Deposed Catalan leader slams EU for 'helping' Spanish PM

Brussels - Muslimchronicle

Deposed Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont on Tuesday slammed the European Union for backing what he termed Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's "coup d'etat". "Will you accept the result of the Catalan referendum or will you continue to help Mr Rajoy in his coup d'etat?" Puigdemont said to the presidents of the European Parliament and European Commission at a meeting withRead more

Axed Catalan leader slams EU for 'helping' Spanish PM

Brussels - Muslimchronicle

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy and his Belgian counterpart Charles Michel are due to address lawmakers over the Catalan crisis on Wednesday after the deposed separatist leader, Carles Puigdemont, urged the European Union to stop supporting a "coup" against his region. On Tuesday Puigdemont slammed the European Union for backing Rajoy's bid to quash Catalan secession, after calling on pro-independenceRead more

Rifts, recriminations among Catalonia's separatists

Barcelona - Muslimchronicle

Catalonia's secessionist politicians have admitted that the region's independence declaration failed and recriminations have started to fly. Five days after the Catalan parliament proclaimed a break away from Spain, the new republic's civil servants were working directly for the central government which imposed direct rule without finding any resistance, as had initially been feared. Catalonia's deposed, separatist leader Carles PuigdemontRead more