Situation in Catalonia for Spain to decide, says Timmermans

The vice-president of the European Commission, Frans Timmermans, has stated that the European Union does not have to interfere with the situation in Catalonia, as long as fundamental rights “are not violated.”

Speaking in the Belgian city of Leuven, in Flanders, he said that the relationship between Catalonia and Spain must be decided by all citizens of the state to decide.

“Spain is a democratic country, and all citizens are beneath the law,” the EC’s vice-president maintained, “the law cannot simply be ignored, which is what happened.”

Police violence

He did, however, admit that Spain committed “errors” with the use of police violence on the day of the referendum last year, leaving over 1000 people injured, according to the Catalan health department.

The president of Spain, Mariano Rajoy, recently stated that he was “proud” of the Spanish police response to what he termed a “coup against democracy.”