WHATEVER you may feel about developments in Catalonia, its Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) in the face of concerted opposition from Spain’s national government in Madrid was a brave and carefully-considered move, which has put the European Union on the spot.
Neither has Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy made the jobs of EU leaders any easier with his much anticipated announcement last night that he was ordering the dissolution of the Catalan Government and sacking its Cabinet. The move is likely to be met with fierce opposition in the north-eastern state, where people were celebrating the independence declaration.
Rajoy had been expected to dismiss the government and curb parliament’s powers after senators voted through the measures in Article 155 of the constitution – the so-called nuclear option. EU President Donald Tusk took to Twitter to say that “for the EU nothing changes”, following Catalonia’s UDI.
But this time, at least, he added: “I hope the Spanish Government favours force of argument, not argument of force.”
This was the closest the EU has yet come to outright censure of Rajoy’s use of Spain’s paramilitary state police to try to halt the October 1 referendum.
It’s a small start – but we still need to see something much stronger from the EU, whose response to the crisis has so far been pretty pathetic.
Perhaps Tusk – and Rajoy – should remember that non-recognition is not a failsafe solution when dealing with the appetite for self-determination.
They should recall Kosovo, which declared independence in 2008 but is still not recognised by 35 states; Slovenia was only recognised by the EU six months after it declared independence in 1991; it took Britain seven years to recognise the USA in 1776.
And so the list goes on.
What Tusk did not do was signal the EU’s intention to intervene in the crisis – as many want him to announce.
Fiona Hyslop, our External Affairs Secretary, said direct rule from Madrid was not the solution, a view echoed by many others.
We understand why the Scottish Government may not want to become involved in any condemnation of Spain’s refusal to negotiate, given that an independent Scotland may one day be forced to call on it for support.
But her statement that the imposition of direct rule should be of concern to democrats everywhere was welcome, as was her reminder to the EU of its “political and moral responsibility” to support dialogue to bring the crisis to a peaceful and democratic end.
It is time for Europe to finally act, and safeguard the democratic rights of its citizens.
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