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 Index 
 Vollständiger Text 
Verbatim report of proceedings
Wednesday, 4 October 2017 - Strasbourg Revised edition

Constitution, rule of law and fundamental rights in Spain in the light of the events in Catalonia (debate)
MPphoto
 

  Manfred Weber, on behalf of the PPE Group. – Mr President, nobody can remain indifferent to what we have seen in Catalonia over the last days. We are very sorry for all those who were hurt. The news arriving from Catalonia is extremely worrisome. Citizens were hurt, but so also were policemen who were sent to stop the referendum – not by the Spanish Government, they were sent by Catalan judges to defend the rule of law.

The European People’s Party (EPP) rejects force as a political solution. European history teaches us that violence is never an answer. What is at stake today is the integrity of an EU Member State, and this justifies the debate we are having today. An EPP Group colleague, who is from Catalonia, yesterday told us: ‘I am Catalan and I am Spanish.’ It is not a conflict between Catalonia and Spain, he said, it is a conflict within Catalonia. A government without a majority of votes in the last elections is using all means for this escalation. We as the EPP, cannot accept such a behaviour. Europe is built upon the rule of law and Spain is built upon the rule of law. There is no doubt that Spain is a country that guarantees fundamental rights for all citizens. We stand by the freedom to demonstrate. For a living democracy, freedom of demonstrations is not only indispensable, it is also desired.

Nevertheless, demonstrations cannot replace a democratic decision-making process in a society. Not the protests on the streets, but the institutions in a democracy in Spain, will decide on the future of the country. Let me be very clear: mass demonstrations in Barcelona will not change the Constitution of Spain. Only democratic institutions can do so. For the moment, everybody is focusing on the separatists, but who is taking the perspective of the rest of the country into account? Spaniards from Catalonia, Aragon, Castilians, have been living together in one country over centuries peacefully and now an irresponsible government in Catalonia is splitting the country. The Spanish legal situation is clear for us: in Spain, no person in charge, not even the Catalan regional government, is allowed to disregard the law. The rights of all Spanish citizens have to be respected. It is unacceptable that a few Catalan politicians encourage civil servants, officials and citizens to break the law.

From our point of view, the referendum is not valid. The legal base was not adopted in line with the Constitution of Catalonia. It is against the Spanish Constitution, and last Sunday, the Catalan authorities were changing the electoral law 45 minutes before the so-called referendum started. This is not credible behaviour.

Another point dear friends is also clear: we need an inner-Spanish dialogue, on the basis of Spanish law. We appeal to everybody, please sit all together. Instead of further escalations, we call upon all the actors involved to engage in dialogue in Spain, but first and foremost in Catalonia itself. A peaceful dialogue in Spain is necessary. We will not find a solution to this Spanish internal conflict here in the European Parliament. This conflict can only be solved by the Spanish people itself. The EU has neither the will nor the right to intervene in a true liberal democracy such as Spain. The dialogue has to be frank. The times in Europe in which division trumped compromise, hatred won over cooperation and egoism beat solidarity, have long gone.

As a Bavarian, I know that nation states are compatible with proud regions. Europe needs both strong nation states and regional diversity. For today we appeal to the Catalan authorities: do not take irreversible steps and please keep in mind that whoever leaves Spain, leaves the European Union. This means leaving the internal market, leaving the Schengen area and leaving the Eurozone. Is this really in the Catalans’ best interest? Europe is living in historic times. This morning, we asked for more European cooperation in our debate. The European way of life does not need division, but unity in diversity. The European way of life needs not more nationalism but more cooperation. The European way of life needs not more egoism but solidarity and the willingness to compromise.

We are sorry for all people hurt. We stand behind Spain’s integrity. We support the Spanish Government and the politicians who respect the rule of law and we ask everybody for a constructive, peaceful dialogue in a European spirit.

(Applause)

 
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