Diplomatic tensions between Belgium and Spain over Catalonia
Against the deafening European silence, Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel has broken international passivity to condemn violence and fuels the need for a political dialogue on the Catalan situation.
Most community leaders remain reluctant to support separatists. However, the politician of the Belgiam Reform Movement, prime minister Charles Michel, made clear his position through his personal Twitter account and criticized the action of the Spanish security forces in the events of 1 October . With the ‘hashtag’ #CatalanReferendum and #Spain, he wrote: “Violence can never be the answer! We condemn all forms of violence and reaffirm our call for political dialogue”.
Except for the Belgian prime minister, almost all heads of government and EU partners crowded Mariano Rajoy in Brussels on Thursday in the face of the Catalan conflict. Angela Merkel, Emmanuel Macron or Theresa May were some of them. According to their statements, the Catalan challenge has officially fallen outside the European agenda and Spain tries to reduce its intensity by all means.
There is no doubt that Europe fears that Catalonia will open a new dynamic that threatens political stability and the future of the EU. However, the repressive action, which the Belgian Minister Charles Michel criticized, undermines the protection of human and civil rights, which is another fundamental principle of the EU.
