Spain excludes Catalan police from Europol while granting access to Basques
Minister of Home Affairs suggests there are “political reasons” behind the decision
The Catalan government expressed outcry after the Spanish executive granted the Basque police, Ertzaintza, access to the Europol database while excluding the Catalan police, the Mossos d’Esquadra. Spanish and Basque officials came to an agreement about the matter in a security coordination meeting, which also generated uneasiness in Catalonia, as its executive has called for a similar bilateral meeting for years. The last one between Madrid and Barcelona was held back in 2009, although the Spanish government had committed to holding one on a yearly basis.
Catalan Minister of Home Affairs Jordi Jané stated that “the bilateral security coordination meeting in the Basque country has been held while calls and letters from Catalonia are not answered”. “Why, if not for political reasons?,” he wondered. Jané warned that the country shares a border with France and “in a few hours a French terrorist can be in the Empordà," in northern Catalonia.
The Secretary of Home Affairs of the Spanish government, José Antonio Nieto, said that the bilateral security coordination meeting will only be called if there is an "atmosphere of agreement and trust" between the Spanish and Catalan executives. He suggested that this is unlikely while members of the Catalan government try to "deliberately violate" the law by calling an independence referendum.
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