Catalan separatist parties agree to renew governing coalition

The Catalan leader of the Republican Left Party (ERC), Pere Aragones and Junts Per Catalunya's Jordi Sanchez pose for pictures at a news conference on the agreement to form Catalonia regional government, in Barcelona, Spain, May 17, 2021. REUTERS/Albert Gea

BARCELONA (Reuters) -Two separatist parties in Catalonia agreed to renew their coalition, one of them said on Wednesday, paving the way for a new pro-independence government in the northeastern Spanish region three months after an inconclusive election.

Leftist Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya and centre-right Junts finished second and third in February's vote, narrowly won by the Socialist Party, which favours continued union with Spain.