Catalonia's independence and EU membership, feature in the EU Presidential debate
CNA
Barcelona (ACN).- In the first debate ever among the
official candidates to chair the European Commission, Catalonia's
self-determination process, the referendum and the EU membership of a
hypothetical Catalan independent state were discussed. After a question
from the debate's host about Scotland and Catalonia, each of the five
candidates shared their views on the issue. Juncker (People's Party) and
Schultz (Socialist) called for respect for constitutional frameworks
and insisted that Scotland and Catalonia are internal matters for the UK
and Spain. Verhofstadt (Liberals) emphasised that the EU has to listen
to the citizens and that it cannot intervene in a negative way, as it
has done so far in this issue. Keller (Greens) promised that if Scots
and Catalans vote for independence, she will work for an automatic
membership. Tsipras (Alternative Left) recognised the right to
self-determination but suggested greater autonomy within their
respective countries as the best solution for Catalonia and Scotland.
On Thursday evening, the European Union experienced an historical
debate. The forthcoming Elections to the European Parliament are the
first ones where the main parties have agreed to run with an official
candidate to chair the European Commission. On Thursday evening, in the
Dutch city of Maastricht, the candidates to chair the EU Executive held
their first debate ever. There were five of them, representing the five
largest political families in Europe: Conservatives and
Christian-Democrats (Jean-Claude Juncker), Social-Democrats (Martin
Schultz), Liberals and Democrats (Guy Verhofstadt), Green Socialists
(Ska Keller) and Alternative Left (Alexis Tsipras). The debate was
chaired by the Italian journalist Monica Maggioni, who asked the
candidates directly about "the independence movements in some Member
States, such as Scotland and Catalonia" and whether they would grant
automatic accession to the EU in the event that they became independent.
The first one to answer was the Belgian Guy Verhofstadt, from the
Liberals and Democrats. He said that Catalans "have to be heard" and
that the EU cannot intervene "in a negative way", as Barroso has already
done. Verhofstadt insisted that the EU can only intervene "in a
positive way" and should not take sides on behalf of Member State
governments, although he would prefer the EU not to intervene but let
the Brits and Scots and the Spaniards and Catalans decide. In addition,
he insisted that "citizens have to be heard" because "we cannot build an
EU where public opinion is not taken into account in such an important
issue". A few weeks ago, the International Liberal Congress approved a
resolution backing the Catalans’ right to self-determination and several
of their leaders have stated in the last few months that an independent
Catalonia should be automatically recognised as an EU Member State.
The second candidate to talk was Alexis Tsipras, from the Alternative
Left, who addressed the audience in Greek. He stated that his party
Syriza "respects the right to self-determination" and that in the light
of this people have to be heard. However, he also warned about the risk
of a nationalist clash. Tsipras went one step further and even suggested
a way out of the current situation: granting greater autonomy to
Scotland and Catalonia within their respective countries in order to
avoid "moving borders".
The third to answer was the German Ska Keller, from the Greens.
Keller was very short, since on previous occasions she has already
backed Catalonia's right to self-determination and stated that if
Catalans vote for independence, she will work to guarantee continuity of
their status within the EU. Keller repeated these arguments, insisting
that Catalans and Scots "must have the right to decide on their own
future and the future of their own state".
Then, Luxembourgian Jean-Claude Juncker, the candidate of the
People's Party – in which the Spanish PP has an important influence,
took the floor. Earlier this week, Juncker was in Madrid and, speaking
next to Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, the Conservative candidate backed
the Spanish Prime Minister's thesis. "Beware of thinking that, out of
the blue, a province could become a new Member of the EU", he said in
Madrid, referring to Catalonia. "I respect the Catalans a lot, but I
also respect the Spanish Constitution". He then said that an
independence referendum was illegal. However, in the debate Juncker was
much more cautious and, contradicting what he had said in Madrid, he
asked the European Union not to intervene in such issues because this
debate belongs "to the United Kingdom and the Kingdom of Spain". In
Maastricht Juncker declared that the EU should simply "shut up".
Finally, Martin Schultz, the Socialist candidate and President of the
European Parliament during the past two years and a half, recognised
that "the EU does not have a blueprint" for these cases. Therefore he
suggested that there are no rules for an automatic expulsion nor for an
automatic accession. Schultz insisted that each case is different,
making an implicit difference between Scotland and Catalonia, and then
emphasised the need to respect Member State constitutional frameworks.
"In Scotland there will be a referendum, but in other countries this
type of referendum is not foreseen", he concluded.
More on
Alexis Tsipras, Catalan Independence, Catalonia, CiU, Debate, Democracy, EU Membership, European Commission, European Elections, European Parliament, Greens, Guy Verhofstadt, ICV-EUiA, Independence, Jean-Claude Juncker, Martin Schulz, PP, PSOE, Referendum, Scotland, Self-Determination, Ska Keller, Socialist Party, Vote
