Catalonia's leader refuses to welcome Spain's king to mobile congress

Catalonia's president of government Pere Aragonés and Barcelona mayor Ada Colau refused to welcome Spain's King Felipe VI at the opening ceremony of the Mobile World Congress (MWC).

The same situation had occurred the previous day at the official dinner for the MWC participants. Aragonese and Colau refused to stand in the queue of officials hosting the king as a sign of their rejection of the monarchy, RTVE reports.

Earlier, Aragonés said that he hoped to succeed next year in an agreement related to a referendum on the region's independence from Spain, according to Catalan government's Twitter page.

According to the politician, 2023 should be the year to give shape to the "agreement of clarity", to achieve strength and internal legitimacy, "to defend itself before the state as a proposal for a country capable of gaining recognition at the international level".

Aragonés stressed that now is the time to "reopen the way".