“Spain is a great nation [...], worth fighting for” Madrid warns Catalonia

Madrid (ACN).- This Thursday, two Spanish Ministers have sent two different warning messages on the same day. On the one hand, the Spanish Foreign Affairs Minister, José Manuel García-Margallo, announced “a 25% or 30%” of “immediate” loss of wealth for an independent Catalonia “according to several studies”, which he did not mentioned by name. Margallo warned Catalans about the “harmful and lethal consequences” that independence would bring. He also stated that the self-determination process can also cause “an employment loss” since it is hurting Spain’s external image. On the other hand, the Spanish Justice Minister, Alberto Ruíz Gallardón, guaranteed that “Spain has the necessary tools to defend […] the national sovereignty, which is in the hands of its citizens as a whole”. On top of this, Gallardón emphasised that “Spain is a great nation that is worth living in and loving, and which is worth fighting for”. Both García-Margallo and Gallardón are members of the People's Party (PP).

Margallo has mobilised all the embassies

In a radio interview at Onda Cero, José Manuel García-Margallo sent a warning message to Catalans about “the harmful and lethal consequences” of independence from Spain. The arguments are similar to the 210-page memo that the Spanish Foreign Affairs Ministry sent a few weeks ago to all its embassies and top officials, presenting a list of arguments against Catalonia’s independence. Margallo commented the letter sent by the President of the Catalan Government, Artur Mas, to international leaders, explaining them the self-determination process. The Spanish Minister highlighted the absence of replies from most of the receivers, since the letter “was not sent through the normalised procedure, through the embassies, and included petitions going against the Spanish and European legal frameworks”. He announced he has given “very precise instructions” to the Spanish external services about what is going on and said he “will do whatever he can” to “defend the unity of Spain”.

“The harmful and lethal consequences” of independence

Margallo said that “as any Spaniard who defends the unity of Spain”, he is part of the “information campaign” launched by the Spanish Government “to warn Catalans” about “the harmful and lethal consequences for Catalonia” that independence might bring. According to him, “this is not a threat”, but “a comprehensive explanation” that abandoning Spain means “being out of the international system”. “I doubt there would be many countries outside the EU that would recognise a state that is born from a declaration of independence”, he added. Margallo added that, if such a thing happened, it would mean “the immediate impoverishment” of Catalonia, losing “between 25% and 30% of its wealth”, since it would not have access to the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund. In addition, it would have to pay custom duties for the exported products and it would be seriously difficult to pay for its debt, he said.

Catalonia’s self-determination harms employment

The Spanish Foreign Affairs Minister regretted that Catalonia’s self-determination process is negatively affecting Spain’s external image. This issue “worries” him because “a large share of employment” depends on this external image through the tools to access liquidity, product sales and tourism. “All this is harming Spain’s image and the External Service’s duty is the opposite, to improve it”, he said.

Gallardón: “Spain has the necessary tools to defend […] the national sovereignty”

Besides, the Spanish Justice Minister, who has become internationally famous for the new abortion law, insisted that “Spain has the necessary tools to defend – with the strict respect of the Constitution and the rights recognised in it – the national sovereignty, which is in the hands of its citizens as a whole”. The Spanish Constitution states that the Armed Forces have the mission to defend the unity of Spain. During an event held in Madrid, with the presence of six former Presidents of the Constitutional Court, Gallardón stated that “Spain is a great nation that is worth living in and loving, and which is worth fighting for”.

The Justice Minister praises “the strength” of the Spanish institutions

The Minister highlighted that the Constitutional Court is “one of the cornerstones that support the architecture of the Estate”. He added that no threat had ever been successful before: “none of their presidents surrendered in front of the numerous challenges that the rule of law has faced along these past years”. According to Gallardón, the “strength” of the Spanish institutions “is the best guarantee for Spain’s future”.