From “Help Catalonia”, sung by the separatists after the failure of the referendum in Catalonia in 2017, to “Help Spain”, which the opposition to the amnesty law in Spain is now chanting, “unitarians” and separatists are demanding help. aid to Europe.
In recent days, Spanish conservatives have taken the debate to the European Parliament and have run into the same wall: the reality of European politics.
According to Didier Reynders, European Commissioner responsible for justice and competition, this is and still is an internal measure for Spain.
“Beyond the institutional debate and the legal route, it is about conquering the minds and hearts of European public opinion. Their future aspirations depend on it,” explains Jaime Velázquez, Euronews correspondent in Madrid.
The narrative around the Catalan question will be one of the central issues of the next European elections.
“There is a battle for storytelling, it’s true. And the European elections are fast approaching. So will the playing field shift to Brussels? Most likely yes. Will this have a effect on European institutions? None, absolutely none,” judges Manuel de la Fuente, partner at Asuntos Públicos, Harmon Consulting.
But in this battle for the story, the recognition by the Spanish government, through the amnesty bill, of the existence of a political conflict in Catalonia strengthens the independence thesis.
Miquel Royo is secretary for external action of the Catalan government: “the priority of this (Catalan) president has been very clear: putting Catalonia back at the forefront of the European agenda, and this has been one of our priorities: “to make sure our message is clear, that this is a political conflict, and now we begin the second part of our negotiation, which is that the Catalans want to decide their own future.”
But the European Union has other priorities: the rise of the far right and Euroscepticism… Whether they define themselves as Spaniards or Catalans, Brussels now needs allies against the enemies of the Union .