ArmInfo. Peremptory support for the territorial integrity of Spain comes from and is conditioned by the conjunctural interests of the European Union. A similar opinion was expressed by ArmInfo scientific director of the German-Russian forum Alexander Rahr.
In Catalonia on October 1, there was a referendum on independence, which the Spanish authorities recognized as illegal at the time of preparation. The majority of the population voted for secession from Spain, but the parliament did not declare independence only four weeks later, when it became clear that Madrid would not make concessions. After that, Madrid introduced direct management of the Spanish authorities in Catalonia, and cases were initiated against Catalan politicians who participated in the preparation of the referendum and adoption of the declaration of independence. "The EU has a selective approach to territorial integrity issues, in the case of Spain, one, and, for example, Kosovo, is completely different." Such a striking difference in approach arises from the fact that Spain, unlike Serbia, is part of the European Union. a different attitude towards the problem of separatism, "the political scientist stresses.
According to Rahr, Brussels approaches the Catalan question with the utmost caution in order to exclude suspicion of any sympathy with the Catalans' desire to secede from Spain. "Spain is part of the EU, NATO and, naturally, apart from unambiguous support for the territorial integrity of Spain, it is not necessary to expect any other steps from Brussels." Such ambiguous support by Brussels for Madrid's positions could only be in one case - if blood were spilled in Catalonia, which, fortunately, was avoided," Rahr summed up.