Catalonia on ‘verge of civil confrontation,’ says Spain’s foreign minister

Spain’s new foreign minister, the Catalan politician Josep Borrell, claims that society in Catalonia is on the “verge of a civil confrontation.” In a television interview on Sunday evening, Borrell was asked his opinion on the possibility of transferring jailed Catalan leaders to prisons closer to home. The minister replied that it would “help lower the tension in a society on the verge of a civil confrontation.” When the interviewer asked Borrell whether he was talking about civil war, the minister specified, “no, a confrontation, not a war.”

Over the weekend, the two Catalan ministers in Pedro Sánchez’s new Socialist cabinet expressed their approval of transferring the nine Catalan pro-independence leaders being held in pre-trial prison in penitentiaries in the Madrid region to centers in Catalonia. However, public administrations minister, Meritxell Batet, and Borrell, both said that the decision was in the hands of the courts. Yet, as the issue quickly gains momentum in the press, there is some confusion over who is responsible for such a decision, with some commentators saying it is up to the prison service and not the courts.

Criticism on Borrell's remarks

While the Catalan Socialists agreed on Borrell's remarks, this sparked some controversy on social media. Indeed, the president of Catalonia, Quim Torra, reacted on Twitter saying that these comments are an "outrageous irresponsibility." On Monday morning, the Catalan education minister, Josep Bargalló, also rejected Borrell's words. "Enough with speaking nonsense and inventing stories," he said.