MEPs urge Spanish government to allow Catalan referendum

Following the tense legal sparring of the last few days, some member of the European Parliament (MEPs) have offered their opinions on the actions of the Catalan and Spanish government following the referendum law being approved in Parliament, urging the right to decide to be respected.

The Scottish referendum as an example

Portuguese Socialist Party MEP Ana Gomes voiced her concerns, but she said that voting is the way forward. She explained that “big questions such as those that divide the people in Catalonia” should “be decided in a peaceful and democratic way” through this very mechanism. The Socialist MEP admitted that she disagrees with the way the referendum law was passed, taking issue with the decision in Parliament being “rushed.”

She explained that she wishes that the right to vote had been the “result of a democratic consultation between the authorities of Catalonia and the authorities in Spain.” “I have always pushed for this dialogue,” she noted, adding that she believes that there is a need to review “the conditions and the framework of the relationship between Catalonia, and the framework of Spain.” She added that she is worried because “any violence would be very negative for the EU.” Still, she said that a referendum should have been agreed upon, using the Scottish referendum as “the perfect example” of what she would like for Catalonia.

Allowing Catalans to express their will

German MEP Ska Keller, co-chair of the Greens parliamentary group, is also worried that the situation “is heading towards institutional confrontation.” Inasmuch, she advised the Catalan and Spanish governments to start negotiations “immediately.” According to Keller, negotiations must serve to establish a dialogue towards a referendum that’s agreed upon, “to allow Catalans to express their will.”