• Catalonia Espionage case: ERC already threatens the approval of the economic decree for the war in Ukraine

Presidency, Félix Bolaños, wanted to make a gift full of symbolism to the Minister of the Presidency of the Generalitat, Laura Vilagrà: A copy of 'In defense of conversation' by American sociologist Sherry Turkle, which analyzes the social consequences of digital culture .

It did so at the beginning of the meeting that the two institutional representatives held in Barcelona to address the alleged espionage of pro-independence leaders by infecting their mobile devices with various programs such as Pegasus and which has caused a new controversy not only between the Generalitat and the Government but also between the parties that make up the Govern as JxCat feels excluded from the meeting.

Also symbolic was the disposition of the two interlocutors, much further apart than normal at one end and the other of a table, and that they left their mobile phones outside the meeting room at the request of Vilagrà.

Perhaps for fear that it might leak.

However, the government's response was forceful.

Félix Bolaños assured that the Spanish Executive has "a clear conscience and nothing to hide" and that is why they have activated four mechanisms "to clarify the facts quickly" and to respond to those affected by this alleged espionage.

The four measures announced by the minister are: Open an internal control within the National Intelligence Council (CNI) to clarify the actions related to this alleged espionage;

the "full disposition" of the CNI to collaborate with the investigation opened by the Ombudsman;

the constitution of the commission of official secrets of the Congress of Deputies so that the director of the CNI appears and speaks about this internal control of the institution in addition to providing documentation for examination by all the parliamentary groups present and the collaboration of the Government with the Justice for which it is willing to "declassify official documents that help clarify the facts in court."

Bolaños insisted that the Government's "commitment" is to "demonstrate that Spain is a state of law with all the guarantees" and that it is a "priority and urgent task".

"The objective is to clarify the facts as soon as possible since Spanish democracy the rights of all citizens think what they think," said the minister and recalled that the explanations will be limited to what the official secrets legislation allows, although it will be available to everyone. parliamentary representatives in the commission in an exercise of transparency.

The minister's explanations did not convince the Government, which threatened "serious threats".

The councilor assured that after the meeting there are "more unknowns than answers" and that questions about who ordered the alleged espionage, how many people it affects, if it still occurs and the objective have not been answered, in addition to knowing what happened to the information obtained.

The Government considers that "no one doubts that Spain has investigated 65 people for thinking as they think" and remarked that this lack of responsibility "makes more complicated" any support for the legislature of the parties that make up the Generalitat.

"We cannot negotiate with those who have spied on us," explained the Minister, adding that the Government is not guaranteed its support in the "parliamentary sphere in a generic way" despite the fact that they will assess each proposal in case it is more political or social, as well as its impact on citizenship.

"We need them to assume responsibilities and resign from those who authorized and who could not stop" this espionage.

For Vilagrà, the parliamentary commission is no guarantee since "they can always hide behind" the law of official secrets.

Feijóo's complaints

The president of the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, also spoke about this alleged espionage, remarking that "we are surprised that the explanations can be provided by the ERC or simply by a councilor of the Government of Catalonia and that the main opposition party cannot have them", "I am waiting for explanations from a sensible position and from a state party position. But it is evident that in the face of news like the ones we have known, we need an explanation. All democrats need an explanation," said the still Galician president who disfigured to the Government that "on more than one such occasion" is used to giving "more explanations to a member of the Government of an autonomous community than to the Congress of Deputies or the main opposition party".

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