Madrid (ACN).- This Thursday, two
Spanish Ministers have sent two different warning messages on the same
day. On the one hand, the Spanish Foreign Affairs Minister, José Manuel
García-Margallo, announced “a 25% or 30%” of “immediate” loss of wealth
for an independent Catalonia “according to several studies”, which he
did not mentioned by name. Margallo warned Catalans about the “harmful
and lethal consequences” that independence would bring. He also stated
that the self-determination process can also cause “an employment loss”
since it is hurting Spain’s external image. On the other hand, the
Spanish Justice Minister, Alberto Ruíz Gallardón, guaranteed that “Spain
has the necessary tools to defend […] the national sovereignty, which
is in the hands of its citizens as a whole”. On top of this, Gallardón
emphasised that “Spain is a great nation that is worth living in and
loving, and which is worth fighting for”. Both García-Margallo and
Gallardón are members of the People's Party (PP).
Margallo has mobilised all the embassies
In a radio interview at Onda Cero, José Manuel García-Margallo sent a
warning message to Catalans about “the harmful and lethal consequences”
of independence from Spain. The arguments are similar to the 210-page
memo that the Spanish Foreign Affairs Ministry sent a few weeks ago to
all its embassies and top officials, presenting a list of arguments
against Catalonia’s independence. Margallo commented the letter sent by
the President of the Catalan Government, Artur Mas, to international
leaders, explaining them the self-determination process. The Spanish
Minister highlighted the absence of replies from most of the receivers,
since the letter “was not sent through the normalised procedure, through
the embassies, and included petitions going against the Spanish and
European legal frameworks”. He announced he has given “very precise
instructions” to the Spanish external services about what is going on
and said he “will do whatever he can” to “defend the unity of Spain”.
“The harmful and lethal consequences” of independence
Margallo said that “as any Spaniard who defends the unity of Spain”,
he is part of the “information campaign” launched by the Spanish
Government “to warn Catalans” about “the harmful and lethal consequences
for Catalonia” that independence might bring. According to him, “this
is not a threat”, but “a comprehensive explanation” that abandoning
Spain means “being out of the international system”. “I doubt there
would be many countries outside the EU that would recognise a state that
is born from a declaration of independence”, he added. Margallo added
that, if such a thing happened, it would mean “the immediate
impoverishment” of Catalonia, losing “between 25% and 30% of its
wealth”, since it would not have access to the European Central Bank and
the International Monetary Fund. In addition, it would have to pay
custom duties for the exported products and it would be seriously
difficult to pay for its debt, he said.
Catalonia’s self-determination harms employment
The Spanish Foreign Affairs Minister regretted that Catalonia’s
self-determination process is negatively affecting Spain’s external
image. This issue “worries” him because “a large share of employment”
depends on this external image through the tools to access liquidity,
product sales and tourism. “All this is harming Spain’s image and the
External Service’s duty is the opposite, to improve it”, he said.
Gallardón: “Spain has the necessary tools to defend […] the national sovereignty”
Besides, the Spanish Justice Minister, who has become internationally
famous for the new abortion law, insisted that “Spain has the necessary
tools to defend – with the strict respect of the Constitution and the
rights recognised in it – the national sovereignty, which is in the
hands of its citizens as a whole”. The Spanish Constitution states that
the Armed Forces have the mission to defend the unity of Spain. During
an event held in Madrid, with the presence of six former Presidents of
the Constitutional Court, Gallardón stated that “Spain is a great nation
that is worth living in and loving, and which is worth fighting for”.
The Justice Minister praises “the strength” of the Spanish institutions
The Minister highlighted that the Constitutional Court is “one of the
cornerstones that support the architecture of the Estate”. He added
that no threat had ever been successful before: “none of their
presidents surrendered in front of the numerous challenges that the rule
of law has faced along these past years”. According to Gallardón, the
“strength” of the Spanish institutions “is the best guarantee for
Spain’s future”.
More on
Alberto Ruiz Gallardón, Centralism, Constitutional Amendment, Constitutional Court, Constitutional Reform, José Manuel García-Margallo, Recentralisation, Spanish Consitutional Court, Spanish Constitution, Spanish Government, Spanish Nationalism
The Spanish Foreign Affairs Minister, José Manuel García-Margallo, a few weeks ago (by ACN)
