EU breaks cover to urge Catalonia crisis dialogue

The images of violence from the weekend have brought a more vocal reaction from leading figures in the European Parliament, who are freer to speak their mind on the issue.

Gianni Pittella, head of the leftwing bloc in the parliament, lamented a “sad day for Spain and for the whole of Europe”.

“The solution can only be a political response, not a police one,” he said, criticising Rajoy for not doing more to defuse the crisis earlier.

Former Belgian prime minister and liberal MEP Guy Verhofstadt — parliament’s Brexit negotiator — condemned both the holding of an illegal vote and Madrid’s use of “disproportionate violence” to stop it, urging “de-escalation” and a negotiated solution.

– Damaging images –

Hendrik Vos, a professor of European politics at Belgium’s Ghent University, said that given the EU’s experience in managing international crises — such as the Iran nuclear deal — it would appear “strange” if it did not take a role in mediating between Madrid and Catalonia.

But Vincent Laborderie of the Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium said it was difficult to see how the EU could act as mediator.

“Very simply, the EU is not really an external actor, because Spain is a member state,” he told AFP, speaking last week before the vote.

He also said Madrid’s handling of the crisis was damaging its image abroad, while the Catalan separatists were “scoring points” in the media.