Estonian MP endorses unilateral referendum
A delegation of Estonian parliamentary representatives and members of the European Parliament met with the Catalan president, Carles Puigdemont, on Thursday in Barcelona. In declarations to the CNA, the head of the Catalonia Support Group in the Estonian Parliament and member of the Estonian Free Party, Artur Talvik, described the delegates’ “surprise” at the Spanish government’s “strong position” against a referendum and the “very strong methods” used to block it, referring to the legal proceedings against the Catalan Minister of Government for purchasing ballot boxes or the sentences for the 9-N symbolic vote. In the event that only a unilateral referendum is possible, Talvik assured that, in his view, it would be “also a referendum”.
Barcelona (ACN).- The Catalan president, Carles Puigdemont, received a delegation on Thursday of the Catalonia Support Group from the Estonian Parliament “to give a first hand account of the current political situation in Catalonia” according to Catalan government sources. After the meeting the chairman of the Catalonia Support Group in the Estonian Parliament and member of the Estonian Free Party, stated in comments to the CNA that the delegation was “surprised” that the central government “is so strongly against a referendum”, and that it “uses very strong methods to work against it.” As the Estonian MP explained, in the meeting with Puigdemont the delegation learned of “the ballot box story and also the court cases against the people who organized the last referendum,” referring to the non-binding vote on November 9, 2014.
Talvik said that from the delegation’s point of view this was “very strange”. “It makes us worried,” he insisted. In the event that no agreement can be reached with the Spanish State and a unilateral referendum is called, Talvik said: “For me it is still a referendum.” Asked about the recognition of an independent Catalonia, the chairman of the Estonian Support Group explained Estonia’s difficult situation in relation to Spain’s role in NATO, because “Spain is a member of NATO and Spanish troops are in Estonia,” and that the Estonian government does not want to act “against our friends in NATO.”
Albert Royo, Secretary General of the Catalan Council for Public Diplomacy, which organized the visit of the Estonian delegation, highlighted the value of the visit of a delegation from the Baltic countries, precisely since Spain sends troops to their borders with Russia to use them as a political bargaining chip. The former minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel García-Margallo, admitted recently that he had to offer do some “favors” to Baltic countries in order for them to keep quiet about the Catalan situation.
It is the fourth time that a delegation from the Estonian Parliament has visited Catalonia in collaboration with the Catalan Council of Public Diplomacy (Diplocat). The delegation was comprised of MEP Indrek Tarand, former Director General of the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Liisa Oviir, current MP, and Ülo Laanoja, former MP, both from the Social Democratic Party, Helmut Hallemaa from the Estonian Centre Party (KESK) and Artur Talvik of the Estonian Free Party. According to sources in the Catalan government Andres Ammas (EVA), Mart Helme, from the Conservative People’s Party of Estonia (EKRE) and Tina Kangro (IRL), member of the European Union Committee in the Parliament of Estonia, also attended the meeting with Catalan President Carles Puigdemont.