francesc gambús

During his campaign to become President of the EU Parliament, Tajani promised to promote the use of the Catalan

The European Parliament passed this Thursday a text, promoted by the Greek MEP Kostas Chrysogonos, which explicitly reports the Castor case and the thousand earthquakes suffered by the locals in Valencia and Catalonia’s Ebro Delta. This business project, consisting of an offshore facility that had to store 1.3 billion cubic metres of reserve gas for Spain, failed after causing over 1,000 small earthquakes. The European Parliament called this Thursday to “include the victims of collateral damage linked to prospecting, surveys and the operation of offshore facilities” in the potential beneficiaries of future compensations. “It is very important that all those affected by offshore oil and gas operations, which are proved to be in detriment of the environment and of the activities of other persons be compensated”, Chrysogonos said to the Catalan News Agency, after slamming the “scandal” which is the Castor case.

The possibility that bullfighting could return to Catalonia by imposition of the Spanish Constitutional Court (TC) has outraged 37 MEPs from five different parties. The signatories of a joint declaration, promoted by Catalan Eco-Socialist ICV MEP, Ernest Urtasun, point out that “animal torture can’t be considered as a cultural expression” and describe bullfighting as “an unfair activity, which is sadistic and despicable”. The initiative is supported by MEPs from Germany, France, Italy, the United Kingdom, Holland, Austria and the Catalan MEPs Josep Maria Terricabras (ERC), Ernest Maragall (ERC), Ramon Tremosa (PDC), Javi López (PSC) and Francesc Gambús (Independent). On the 20^th of October, the TC annulled the prohibition to host bullfighting in Catalonia after considering that the Parliament “exceeded its competences” and “restricted the citizens’ rights and freedoms” when banning bullfighting in 2010.

The European Ombudsman, Emily O'Reilly, warned that "any declaration made by members of the EU institutions" regarding Catalonia's independence "would be reflecting their personal view and not the official position of the institution". By stating this, O'Reilly answered a letter sent by Catalan MEPs from liberal CDC, left wing pro-independence ERC-NeCat, Christian Democrat UDC and Eco-Socialist ICV. In the letter, they expressed their concerns about the double version of EC president Jean-Claude Juncker's answer on Catalonia and the problems that many Catalans abroad faced to vote. O'Reilly admitted to being "up to date" on the double answer scandal but asked the MEPs to contact the EC first. Regarding the problems with the vote abroad, O'Reilly considered them a "national matter" and refused the meeting request "for the moment". 

MEPs from different groups and ideological sensibilities have reacted to President Mas’ summons for the 9-N symbolic vote on independence. Conservative MEP Ian Duncan, who was invited as an international observer to the 9-N consultation, considered “illogical and irrational” the Spanish government’s attitude regarding Catalonia’s push for independence and defined the 9-N as “an attempt to be democratic”. Duncan stated that Catalonia’s push for independence “is troubling any democrat” and added that the future of a nation “can’t be settled in a courtroom”. Lithuanian Liberal MEP Petras Austrevicious appealed for an “effective dialogue” between Barcelona and Madrid and the European Democrats’ Vice-President, Belgian Kathleen van Brempt, pointed to “political solutions” rather than “legal procedures” to solve the situation in Catalonia.  

The MEPs from the Centre-Right pro-Catalan State (CiU), Ramon Tremosa and Francesc Gambús, and the MEP from the Basque Nationalist Party (PNB), Izaskun Bilbao, wrote to the re-elected President of the European Parliament stating that the use of Catalan, Basque and Galician languages in the plenary just depends on a “political decision”. The MEPs asked the leader of the Chamber, a former bookshop owner, to show “respect” for their languages. Tremosa, Gambús and Bilbao said that the decision would cost nothing to the European Parliament as many Spanish translators also speak Catalan, Basque or Galician.