CATALONIA -- Catalan News Agency - The International Liberal Congress backs Catalans' right to self-determination and to stay within the EU

Catalan News Agency - The International Liberal Congress backs Catalans' right to self-determination and to stay within the EU

The International Liberal Congress backs Catalans' right to self-determination and to stay within the EU

CNA

Barcelona (ACN).- The alliance grouping Liberal parties
from throughout the world included a motion supporting Catalans' right
to self-determination and to stay within the European Union in its main
resolution approved at their international congress, which took place in
Rotterdam (The Netherlands) between the 24^th and 27^th
of April. "Liberal International will support any decision taken by the
Catalan people on their future" reads the resolution, which also
"expresses concern over the lack of real dialogue between the Government
of Catalonia and the Government of Spain to discuss a negotiated
roadmap over the future of Catalonia". In this vein, they praise the
agreement reached between the British and Scottish authorities, as "a
positive example". Among the parties backing this statement are the UK's
Liberal Democrats (Lib-Dem), the Dutch People's Party for Freedom and
Democracy (VVD) and Democracy 66 (D66), Germany' Free Democratic Party
(FDP) and the Liberal Party of Canada (LPC). The resolution also states
that "the European Union has to be flexible and strong to offer a viable
alternative for those people that want to democratically express
themselves within it". The motion was proposed by the CDC, which is the
Liberal force within the two-party Centre-Right pro-Catalan State
Coalition (CiU), which runs the Catalan Government. The leader of CDC,
who is also the President of Catalonia, Artur Mas, attended the
Rotterdam congress on Friday, where he spoke to several leading Liberal
figures.

In a 14-page document divided into world areas and countries,
Liberal International devoted an entire point in their main resolution
to Catalonia's self-determination process. The main international
association of parties supporting Liberalism, which is the EU's
third-largest political affiliation, is backing the Catalan people's
right to self-determination. In addition, they go one step further and
highlight that they "will support any decision taken by the Catalan
people on their future" in the main resolution of their 59^th
international conference, which this year took place in the Dutch city
of Rotterdam. The congress was organised under the patronage of The
Netherlands' Prime Minister Mark Rutte, who is the leader of the Liberal
party VVD.

A "flexible" EU to accept Catalonia's right to self-determination

In a document called 'World Today Resolution', which has been
compiled by the European Commissioner for Trade and member of the Open
Flemish Liberals and Democrats (VLD) Karel de Gucht, Liberal
International also supports a "flexible" EU, which should allow Catalans
to express their democratic will and stay within the Union if they
decide to become independent from Spain. "The European Union has to be
flexible and strong to offer a viable alternative for those people that
want to democratically express themselves within it", reads the
document.

London-Edinburgh agreement as a model

The Liberal family "expresses concern over the lack of real dialogue
between the Government of Catalonia and the Government of Spain to
discuss a negotiated roadmap over the future of Catalonia". In this
vein, they consider that "the democratic model set by the Government of
the United Kingdom and the Government of Scotland, where an agreement
was reached between the two governments to hold a referendum to decide
the political future of the Scottish people, should be used as a
positive example in the discussions between the Government of Spain and
the Government of Catalonia". However, "any potential or future
discussions between the two governments should never imply the
renunciation of the right of the Catalan people to decide their own
future, granting that this is always set up through democratic means",
they highlighted.

Further international support from the Liberals and the Greens

It is not the first time that Liberal Parties have supported Catalonia's right to self-determination. In January 2014, Liberal International Youth explicitly supported the demands shared by a majority of the Catalan population, which are to be able to vote on their own future. Furthermore, the
Chairman of the European Liberals, Graham Watson, also backed
Catalonia's right to self-determination and expressed surprise at the
reaction of the Spanish Government, rejecting any
negotiation at all. However, Liberals are not the only ones to have
expressed their explicit support for Catalonia's self-determination
process: the Greens' candidate to chair the European Commission in next
May’s elections, German politician Ska Keller, committed herself to working for Catalonia's right to self-determination in a press conference held in March in Barcelona.

More on

ALDE, Artur Mas, Catalan Government, Catalan Independence, Catalan President, CDC, CiU, Congress, Democracy, EU Membership, European Elections, European Parliament, European Union, Graham Watson, Independence, Liberal, Party Congress, Referendum, Rotterdam, Scotland, Self-Determination, The Netherlands, UK, United Kingdom, Vote

 

The website of the International Liberal 59th Congress (by International Liberal)