Following the publication of Renaud Denuit's editorials on Catalonia on 7 and 8 November (see EUROPE 12364/1, 12365/1), we are pleased to welcome the reply of Mr Domènec Ruiz Devesa, Spanish Member of the European Parliament (S&D), in our daily bulletin. Please note that both texts were therefore written by Mr Denuit before the Spanish elections on 10 November.
Dear Agence Europe, as loyal reader of your daily bulletin, I was taken aback by the biased editorials your journal published on Catalonia on November 7 and 8.
The general elections held in Spain on November 10 gave the Socialist Party a clear victory. The results also show that for the moderate forces, serious work lies ahead to repair the social fracture opened by Catalan separatists, and the Spanish far right that has been awaken as a result of the secessionist push.
In these texts, Agence Europe delved into the very same fracture we now must heal. The editorials titled ‘Catalans counting on European solidarity’ failed to capture the diversity of Catalan society. Taking into account the results of the elections, separatist parties reached just 43% of the vote. Once again, as in all previous elections, the plurality of Catalan society has been reaffirmed. It is thus legitimate to question the appropriateness of the editorial's title that gives a uniform depiction of a rich but also a highly polarised society. Who is asking for EU solidarity? Pro-independence and unionists alike? The author only appears to discuss the former’s claims.
Furthermore, the criticism directed to the European Parliament President is unfair; at this stage, unless the European Union institutions decide otherwise, there are national regulations that need to be followed during European elections. Members of the European Parliament must be proclaimed and forwarded by national authorities to the European Parliament.
I am also puzzled that Mr Denuit concludes that economic factors do not explain the pro-independence movement but deep cultural factors. In fact, pro-independence parties only polled around 20% before the economic and financial crisis. Also, as a pro-European, does Mr. Denuit believe that each cultural nation has the right to its own state?
Perhaps the most relevant discussion we must have at European level is that of the diversity of the Spanish and Catalan societies, within the framework of a plural and united Europe. These editorials rejoice in the apparent existence of a Euro-nationalist axis, failing to note the close links of some Catalan pro-independence parties with far-right anti-European parties such as the Lega, or Eurosceptics such as the Flemish N-VA or the presence of the staunchly anti-European Catalan nationalist party, CUP. Many Catalan nationalists have become, unfortunately, an example of national-populism not very different from Brexiteers and supporters of Le Pen. As a committed Spanish and European progressive and a federalist, I see Mr Denuit’s discourse as a contradiction in terms. Europe is the incarnation of a multinational political project: one polity, many nations. It is based on inclusivity and the overcoming of differences in the pursue of a common ground. Nationalism can only survive by signaling irreconcilable differences. Thus, nationalism of any kind, regional or national, are political movements with a substantially different DNA to the ideas underpinning the European project. My commitment will always be with the latter. We must ensure that all the peoples of Europe, irrespectively of their cultural and political identities, can thrive in a diverse and united Europe. It is precisely in this political space that we must urgently call for greater unity and solidarity among Europeans.
Domènec Ruiz Devesa
Member of the European Parliament, S&D (Spain)