Donald Tusk urges Catalan president not to declare independence

Donald Tusk, the president of the European Council, made an appeal to the Catalan president to step back from declaring independence. In a speech to the Committee of the Regions before a debate on Catalonia, Tusk said that a declaration of independence “would make dialogue impossible” and stressed that it’s necessary to “look for a solution to the problem without using force.”

The president of the European Council also pointed out that he “understands and feels the arguments and emotions of both sides.”

“The force of arguments is always better than the argument of force,” he highlighted. Appealing directly to Puigdemont, Tusk added that, as Polish and "member of an ethnic and regional minority," he knows "what it feels to be hit by policemen."