Spanish PM and opposition leader meet to resolve judicial deadlock
Alberto Núñez Feijóo proposes European Commission supervision to appease conservative 'lack of trust'
european comission
European Commission to back Amsterdam – Barcelona night train connection
Brussels also supports new services from Catalonia to southern France planned by FGC operator
European Commission doesn’t want “to influence” the Catalan elections as they are “a choice of voters”
European Commission vice-president Valdis Dombrovskis assured this Friday that Brussels’ intention “is not to influence votes in member states and regions”, referring to the upcoming 27-S Catalan elections, and outlined that they are “a choice of voters”. Dombrovskis comments came after European Commission spokesman Margarities Schinas warned on Thursday that in the event of becoming an independent state, Catalonia “will become a third country and may apply to become a member of the EU”. Dombrovskis, former Prime Minister of Latvia and European Commissioner for the Euro and Social Dialogue recalled that the European Commission “does not normally comment on party politics in member states or their regions”. “We are ready to work with democratically elected or appointed authorities of member states”, he emphasised
Brussels insists that an independent Catalonia would remain outside the EU
The European Commission reiterated this Thursday that an independent Catalonia would be kept out of the EU and would need to reapply for admission. “If a part of a Member State ceases to be a part of that state” because it becomes independent, “the treaties will no longer apply to that territory”, stated European Commission spokesman, Margaritis Schinas. The new independent state “will become a third country and may apply to become a member of the EU”, he added. Schinas clarified that this statement was not the result of any official analysis of the consequences of Catalonia’s independence and said that the European Commission would only carry out such a study if Spain or another EU Member State requested it.
Catalan MEPs ask European Commission for meeting to discuss “attacks” against Catalan education system
In Brussels, all political parties but the PP denounced the new proposals by the Spanish minister for Education, José Ignacio Wert, to relegate the Catalan language to a third-class subject in schools. MEPs from the CiU, the ERC, the PSC and the ICV have written a joint letter to the European Comissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth, Androulla Vasilliou, asking for a meeting to discuss the Catalan language situation in Spain. The Catalan politicians have also presented a parliamentary question to the European Commission urging the institution to protect languages such as Catalan and asking whether the law proposed by the Spanish government is in line with European directives.