The Council for the Republic presented in Brussels

The Council for the Republic, an organization working towards Catalan independence headed by exiled pro-independence leaders, was presented on December 8 in Brussels. The event was attended by Catalan president Quim Torra, as well as the President in Exile Carles Puigdemont.  Puigdemont spoke at the event and said that without unity, the Catalan pro-independence movement will lose "moral authority." Puigdemont defended the Council as a tool to "conjure strategic unity." "There's a call for unity running through Catalonia," said Puigdemont, "and we should listen to it." “Today, in the European Union, there are six countries with fewer inhabitants than the number of Catalans who voted ‘yes’ during the October 1 referendum,” said Puigdemont, who further urged the audience that it is necessary to “be many and to persist, without fear.