Brussels, 08/11/2012 (Agence Europe) - The president of the autonomous Spanish region of Catalonia is quite determined to take Catalonia down the road of “self-determination” and is seeking support in Brussels. Artur Mas has provided assurances that Catalans want to change their political status but do not want to separate from Europe. On Wednesday 7 November in Brussels, however, during a conference on the role of Catalonia in the European Union, organised by the Friends of Europe think tank, he asked whether the EU was ready for this. Early regional elections will take place on 25 November in Catalonia, which could lead to a referendum on the separation of the region from the Spanish state in the four years that follow.
Mas stated that, “Catalonia has never let Europe down and now we trust Europe will not let us down”. He also asserted that, “it would not make any sense that a nation which is already part of the European Union and the eurozone, and which wants to continue to do so, is not allowed to do that”. The question that arises is as follows, “whether Europe is prepared to offer solutions” to people such as the Catalans which want to change their political status? Mas certainly recognised that in the event of self-determination, the European treaties do not stipulate the Catalonia would remain within the EU but he did emphasise that the texts do not providee anything to the contrary. He expressed his wish that the EU provide support to Catalonia's process of independence and expects that the European institutions, “instead of excluding people, will continue to include them, as they have done over the past decades”. He affirmed that they did not expect the EU to do their work for them, but for the EU to support and promote democratic values. (MD/transl.fl)