Brussels, 17/09/2013 (Agence Europe) - European Competition Commissioner, Spaniard Joaquin Almunia, took a very firm line on Monday 16 September about Catalonia's bid to secede from Spain. “If one part of a territory of a member state decides to separate, the separated part isn't a member of the European Union”, he explained. He was reacting to the secessionist movement in Catalonia, where a million people joined hands to form a human chain on the Spanish region's national day (11 September), calling for a referendum on the right of self-determination (see EUROPE 10920).
A spokesperson for the European Commission explained the Commission's view on Tuesday 17 September “without prejudging any hypothetical case in any member state”, saying that, if one part of a member states cease to be part of that state because the territory becomes independent, then the EU treaties no longer apply to the separated territory and the independent state would become a “third country” vis-a-vis the European Union because the treaties would stop applying on the day of independence.
Following on from the controversy of Catalonia wanting to become a separate country, statements by the Latvian and Lithuanian prime ministers, Valdis Dombrovskis and Algirdas Butkevicius respectively, have hit the headlines. With the experience of their own countries within recent history, breaking free from the Soviet bloc, the two politicians expressed support for Catalonia's request for self-determination. Both countries' ambassadors to Spain were summoned to explain themselves to Spanish foreign minister, José Manuel Garcia Margallo.
On Monday, the Lithuanian foreign ministry issued a statement expressing concern at the erroneous and tendentious interpretation made by the Spanish media about Lithuania's attitude to the question of Catalonia. (MD/transl.fl)