Former Icelandic Minister for Foreign Affairs to Catalonia: “Don’t be scared by scaremongering”

Brussels (CNA).- Former Icelandic Minister for Foreign Affairs Jón Baldvin Hannibalsson stated that the international community would have to “accommodate itself to the new reality” in the event that Catalonia proclaims its independence. “Don’t be scared by scaremongering. In the end, all nations and all political leaders have to accommodate themselves to new realities” he assured. “A constitution is a framework” he noted and highlighted the importance of people power in a democracy. “It will take a long time and you will feel very lonely” he predicted but believed that “freezing Catalonia out forever” would be “nonsense”. Baldvin Hannibalsson recognised the Baltic States’ independence in 1991, when neither the United States nor the European powers dared to do so for fear of confronting the USSR.

Baldvin Hannibalsson warned that Catalonia’s independence and its corresponding international recognition will be a “long, difficult” process. “It will take a long time and it will be very difficult. You’ll be very lonely” he predicted but assured that “in the end” the international community will “of course adapt to the new reality”. Thus, he questioned the “scaremongering” around Catalonia’s independence and the voices which warn about its potential international isolation. “Who is going to freeze Catalonia out forever?” he asked rhetorically “it would be nonsense”. 

“Constitutions are not sacred”

Baldvin Hannibalsson, who was in charge of Iceland’s Foreign Affairs between 1988 and 1995, noted that constitutions “are not sacred” and emphasised the importance of the citizens’ power in a democracy. “A constitution is a framework, but it is not cast in iron or in stone” and “ultimately power should reside in a democracy in the hands of the people” he stated. “You have to adjust constitutions, especially if you’re going through political problems” he advised.

Regarding the possibility of Catalonia proclaiming its independence outside of the Spanish Constitution, Baldvin Hannibalsson assured that “the first reaction” will be to deny it. “If there is no legal way out and you do it nonetheless, the first reaction will be: you shouldn’t do it, it is illegal” he stated “but in the end, of course, we’ll have to accommodate ourselves to reality” he added.

However, he warned that if it isn’t possible “to find a constitutional and legal way to accommodate changes” the worsening of the situation and even violence are “always a risk”. Regarding the EU’s role and its possible intervention in the Catalan case, Baldvin Hannibalsson lamented that the EU “won’t be able to do much” and will rely on “the Spanish and the Catalan” sovereignty.