Catalonia SILENCED: EU scrutinised on REFUSAL to criticise Spain and declares vote ILLEGAL
BRUSSELS today refused to condemn the actions of Spanish police in Catalonia after clashes between riot clad officers and unarmed voters left more than 800 people injured, some seriously.
Violence breaks out as protester receives first aid in Catalonia
The EU Commission faced a barrage of angry questions as it attempted to sidestep the issue of violence by Madrid-backed authorities in suppressing yesterday’s referendum.
Its chief spokesman repeatedly refused to be drawn on whether or not EU officials felt the actions of Spanish police were disproportionate, saying he would “not engage in this sort of judgement”.
Maragritis Schinas also declined to comment on calls for infringement proceedings being taken against Madrid and tried to distinguish the Catalan case from abuses of Rule of Law in Poland and Hungary.
But he faced a volley of questions from journalists, some of whom were openly astonished at the Commission’s failure to condemn the heavy-handed tactics employed by Spanish police.
The ugly images, which were broadcast around the world, will prove an acute embarrassment for the EU and also raise questions over how it can credibly call itself a defender of international human rights.
In particular the scandal could damage its flagship global strategy, which aims to promote “European values” like free speech, democracy and the rule of law across the globe.
The founding document for the strategy - a key plank of the EU’s increasing foreign policy ambitions, states: “Consistently living up to our values will determine our external credibility and influence.”
Brussels’ failure to openly condemn scenes which included pictures of police officers wielding batons and firing rubber bullet into crowds including pensioners and children sits ill with that aim.
Its determination to protect Madrid from the ramifications of police actions may stick in the throat in other parts of the world, where EU officials have been swift to offer condemnation of similar scenes of violence.
And Mr Schinas wearily conceded to the world’s press: “As for value judgements and credibility et cetera, you are completely within your rights to make whatever judgements you see fit.”
In a statement which failed to identify the culprits for the violence, despite it being overwhelmingly blamed on the authorities, the Commission instead called for dialogue between the two sides.
Catalonia: Spanish riot police DRAG protesters away during clash
It said: “Under the Spanish Constitution, yesterday's vote in Catalonia was not legal. For the European Commission, as President Juncker has reiterated repeatedly, this is an internal matter for Spain that has to be dealt with in line with the constitutional order of Spain.
“We also reiterate the legal position held by this Commission as well as by its predecessors. If a referendum were to be organised in line with the Spanish Constitution it would mean that the territory leaving would find itself outside of the European Union.
“Beyond the purely legal aspects of this matter, the Commission believes that these are times for unity and stability, not divisiveness and fragmentation. We call on all relevant players to now move very swiftly from confrontation to dialogue.
“Violence can never be an instrument in politics. We trust the leadership of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy to manage this difficult process in full respect of the Spanish Constitution and of the fundamental rights of citizens enshrined therein.”
Asked specifically whether the Commission had identified who was responsible for the violence, Mr Schinas said: “I don’t have anything to add, subtract, or multiply on the Commission’s statement.”
He insisted the Commission will continue to act as a “guardian of the treaty” and brushed aside complaints that Spain is getting a softer ride than Hungary and Poland because it is more in favour with eurocrats.
Article 2 of the Lisbon Treaty states: “The Union is founded on the values of respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities.”
Mr Schinas said: “The Spanish constitution as all the constitutions of our member states encapsulate all values to which the Commission is attached and respectful.”
“As for comparisons between the constitutional context of our member states, I think you need to be very careful. We have a situation where you’ve got a constitution that’s been around for 40 years that has a value framework.
“But then you’ve got other constitutional frameworks where there are attempts to weaken the values recognised in the constitution and there the Commission has a role to play in the defence of values.”
Both Poland and Hungary are currently facing action on Rule of Law grounds, with the Commission concerned by Warsaw’s proposed reforms to the judiciary and Budapest’s crack down on NGOs.