Catalonia crisis ‘ bigger threat to EU than Brexit’
Spain was on the verge of political eruption last night as Catalonia prepares to declare its independence.
The region’s leaders are set to defy King Felipe after he accused separatist politicians of ‘breaking the unity’ of the country.
a senior mep warned that the turmoil in Catalonia poses a bigger threat to the EU than Brexit.
and Brussels said the imminent declaration of a breakaway state would make the crisis worse.
The decision to press ahead with Catalan independence after a highly contentious vote prompted a diplomatic push to stop the political crisis from turning into a more serious violent conflict.
more demonstrations were held in the region yesterday as rival groups of supporters traded punches in Barcelona. Experts say tension between Catalonia and Spain is at its highest since the end of the Franco regime in the 1970s. The political instability was mirrored by the country’s markets yesterday, as stock prices fell and bonds soared.
Brussels told both sides it was ‘time to talk’ after days of criticism for its failure to condemn madrid’s heavy-handed shut- down of Sunday’s vote. more than 800 were injured when thousands of riot police forced their way into polling stations, manhandled voters and seized ballot boxes.
However, a senior EU official defended Spain’s right to use ‘proportionate’ force and said Catalonia leaders had ‘ignored the rule of law’ by holding the ballot after it was declared illegal by madrid.
European Commission vice president Frans Timmermans said: ‘If the law does not give you what you want you can oppose the law, you can work to change the law, but you cannot ignore the law.’
He also urged negotiations between the Spanish government and Catalonian leaders in an attempt to de- escalate the situation, which led to huge street protests in Barcelona earlier this week. ‘It’s time to talk, to find a way out of the impasse,’ he said.
as EU officials united behind Spain, the European Parliament’s president antonio Tajani also warned that any declaration of independence would only serve to ‘provoke dangerous divisions’.
Gianni Pittella, leader of the second largest bloc of meps, said it would be ‘adding fuel to the flames of a referendum that was pointless’. Catalan president Carles Puigdemont said on Tuesday that he would declare independence by the beginning of next week.
Last night he vowed that his government will ‘carry out the will of the Catalan people’ following the referendum.
Critics however have said that the move is futile as the vote had a turnout of just 42 per cent, even though authorities said 90 per cent backed independence. Belgian mep Philippe Lamberts, head of the Green group in parliament, warned the crisis ‘threatened the spirit of European integration, even more than Brexit’.
and mep Esteban Gonzalez Pons, a member of Spain’s Popular Party, warned that independence would spark a ‘domino effect’ across the continent. ‘Instead of a Europe of 27 we will have a non-Europe of mini-states,’ he said.
In an extraordinary televised address, King Felipe accused Catalan leaders of showing ‘disrespect to the powers of the state’. ‘They have broken the democratic principles of the rule of law,’ he said. ‘These authorities have scorned the attachments and feelings of solidarity that have united and will unite all Spaniards.
‘Their irresponsible conduct could even jeopardise the economic and social stability of Catalonia and all of Spain.’
Barcelona’s left-wing mayor ada Colau, who did not support the referendum, attacked the king’s speech. She tweeted: ‘no solution. no mention of the injured. no appeal for dialogue. Irresponsible speech unworthy of the head of state.’
‘Cannot ignore the law’