Consequences of independence

4.10.2017

Question for written answer E-006212-17
to the Commission
Rule 130
Auke Zijlstra (ENF)

According to the newspaper ‘De Standaard’, the Commission has stated in a press release that a region that seceded from a Member State on the basis of a referendum would no longer be part of the EU[1].

The Commission has answered previous questions put by me on the secession of regions (E-008133/2012 and E-11131/2013). It stated that it would only give an opinion on the legal consequences of secession by one part of a Member State if that Member State asked it to do so and detailed a precise scenario.

1. When did the Spanish Government, on the basis of a precise scenario, ask the Commission to deliver an opinion on the secession of Catalonia?

2. What arguments formed the basis for the conclusion reached by the Commission and reproduced in its press release?

3. Did the Commission consult the Government of Catalonia, too, when considering the matter, and, in reaching its conclusion, did it take account of Catalonian arguments?

• [1] Standaard.be/cnt/dmf20171002_03107712