“More than one hundred fifty attendees gathered on 10 September 2015 at the “Espai Catalunya Europa” in Brussels for a reception to mark the National Day of Catalonia. Diplomats, representatives of European Union institutions, representatives of European regions, journalists and Catalans living in the Brussels took part in the event.
Among the attendees, it is worth to highlight the President of the Economic and Social Committee, Henri Malosse, the Head of Mission of the Principality of Andorra to the EU, the Benelux countries and Germany, HE Ambassador Maria Ubach Font (who presented her credentials to The King of the Belgians on 15 September 2015), the Delegate general of Québec, Michel Audet, representatives to the EU of the Spanish state, Flanders, Gibraltar, Brussels, Bavaria, the Canary Islands, Euskadi, Rhône-Alpes, Midi-Pyrénées, Île de France, the Swiss cantons, South-Tyrol and Tyrol–Trentino Euroregion, London, Hamburg and the president of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party (ALDE), Sir Graham Watson.
The Permanent Representative of the Government to the European Union, Amadeu Altafaj Tardio, addressed some words to the attendees to explain the historical events that Catalans commemorates during the National Day and to explain what the role of Catalonia is today.
The Permanent Representative explained Catalans presence in Brussels dates from 1986 “that is the year of Spain’s accession to the European Economic Community but the strong European commitment of Catalonia dates from well before Spain’s accession. It is a commitment to values and principles that are at the heart of the European project.”
“Some of these principles seem to be missing or, at least, relativized when addressing the current heart beating migration and refugee crisis” Altajaf said.“The Catalan Government fully supports President Junker’s strong plea yesterday in his State of the Union speech urging member states to reaffirm and to show with facts, not words, their commitment to solidarity, respect of fundamental rights and duties under international law. We have urged the Spanish Government to agree on a responsible distribution of quotas at EU level and to provide all the necessary means for welcoming and integrating these refugees.”
Altafaj also stated: “We are not in Brussels only to monitor EU policies and institutions; hence, our duty is to represent, to get involved and to influence developments both in the EU and in Catalonia”.
He concluded his speech by saying: “Elections on September 27 will once again show the world that despite all the pressure and difficulties we face, Catalans will continue to embrace the peaceful, civic, inclusive, pro-European and hopeful democratic process in which we have trusted so far.”
After the speech, Altafaj raises a cava toast with all attendees to celebrate the National Day of Catalonia.
Opening the photography exhibition – “Dalí, breaking news”
After the Permanent Representative’s speech, journalist David Álvarez, who is the curator for “Dalí, breaking news”, addressed the attendees to explain some curiosities about the exhibition’s protagonist, Catalan artist Salvador Dalí.
Álvarez explained: “Dalí was a multifaceted character. Surrealist paintings is perhaps the reason for which Salvador Dalí is best known, as he was one of the most prominent representatives of this artistic movement. However, Dalí’s cultural inquisitiveness brought him to search art in many parts of the world and he experimented with other artistic disciplines such as sculpture, photography or cinema.”
The exhibition can be visited until 29 February 2016 at “Espaj Catalunya Europa.
“Dalí, breaking news” highlights the artist’s relationship with mass media and how he was amazingly capable of appearing in all the newspaper’s sections. The photographs are arranged in the style of a newspaper and divided into 6 sections: culture, politics, society, science, international and media. In all of these areas, the visitor will get to know more about Dalí and his natural theatricality.
Wishing to commemorate the 75th anniversary of EFE news agency, the 40th anniversary of the inauguration of the Dalí Museum in Figueres (Catalonia) and the 25th anniversary of the death of the Salvador Dalí, the Tourism Board Costa Brava-Girona organised this exhibition which shows a unique collection of images from the agency’s photographic archives.
For more information:
Allocution of Catalonia’s Representative to the EU on the occasion of the National Day 2015: http://afersexteriors.gencat.cat/ca/detalls/noticia/20150910_discursRPUE
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Text and picture by Delegation of Catalonia to the EU
