Catalonia

The President of the Catalan Parliament, Roger Torrent, has proposed Jordi Sanchez as a candidate for prime minister after Carles Puigdemont withdrew his candidacy.

53-year-old Jordi Sanchez has little chance of becoming Catalan prime minister because of conflicts in the separatist camp and because he is in jail.

Catalonia’s parliament will convene on March 12 to appoint a new regional president, with jailed separatist Jordi Sanchez the only candidate, the assembly said on March 6.

Catalonia's deposed leader Carles Puigdemont said Thursday he had abandoned his bid to return as regional president in an attempt to unblock a political impasse as the region remains without a fully-functioning government.

Carles Puigdemont is to request judicial permission to attend his inauguration as Catalan president after Spain's top court barred him from being sworn in from Belgium in an intensifying showdown over his bid to return to power, The Telegraph writes.

Spain's government has taken a first step towards preventing the election of former Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont as head of the Spanish region, the deputy prime minister said on Thursday, quoted by Reuters. 

Today, the constituent meeting of the new Catalan Parliament will be held in Barcelona. In the early elections on 21 December, the nationalists received the most votes and again wanted to choose Carles Puigdemont as Prime Minister of the province.

The Catalan parliament will meet on Wednesday in a first step toward forming a local government after December's elections but questions remain over whether the wealthy northeastern region will continue to push for a split from Spain./ Reuters

Spain's prime minister warned on Monday that Madrid would continue unpopular direct control over Catalonia if former regional leader Carles Puigdemont tried to rule again from exile in Belgium.

The crisis in Catalonia cost Spain's state budget at least 1 billion euros.

"The Catalan crisis and the referendum on independence cost a billion euros," said Spanish Economy Minister Luis de Guindos.

Catalonia’s former leader Carles Puigdemont on Dec. 30 urged Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy to accept the results of a Dec. 21 local election which gave a slim majority to parties favoring a split of the northeastern region from Spain.