‘It’s time to talk’: EU again urges dialogue in Spain

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The EU executive called again on Wednesday for the Spanish government and Catalan authorities to open dialogue to defuse the sometimes violent confrontation over calls for Catalonia’s independence.

"It's time to talk, finding a way out of the impasse, working within the constitutional order of Spain," EU Commission First Vice President Frans Timmermans told an emergency debate in the European Parliament.

Catalonia's leader has vowed to declare independence within days, claiming a mandate from Sunday's referendum which was declared illegal by Madrid and the Spanish courts.

European Commission First Vice President Frans Timmermans speaks as members of the European Parliament debate the ongoing situation in Catalonia, three days after the banned referendum on a split from Spain, in Strasbourg, France, on October 4, 2017. /Reuters Photo‍

Reflecting the cautiously balanced tone of a formal Commission statement on Monday after images of police violence against voters marked an unauthorized independence referendum on Sunday, Timmermans backed the legal position of Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy but also renewed a call for dialogue.

"None of us want to see violence in our societies. However it is of course a duty for any government to uphold the rule of law and this sometimes does require the proportionate use of force," he said.

He added, “If the law does not give you what you want, you can oppose the law,” he said. “You can work to change the law, but you cannot ignore the law. It is fundamental that the constitutions of every one of our member states are upheld and respected.”

He insisted that the Commission saw the matter as an internal one for Spain: “That is why the Commission has called on all relevant actors to now move quickly from confrontation to dialogue. All lines of communication must stay open.”

Source(s): AFP ,Reuters