Why Brussels’ position on Cataluña does the EU more harm than good

Brussels’ leaders have decided to condemn the Catalans’ fight for independence by backing a corrupt regime in Madrid. This weak, yet undifferentiated attitude may harm the EU in the long run.

What does the average EU citizen know about Spain? Not much, I would argue. Apart from tapas that are now eaten in hip bars around Europe and the infamous beaches in Mallorca or Benidorm, many do neither know Spain’s recent history, nor the different language and cultural borders within the country. One does not need to be aware that Cava and Freixenet are from Cataluña to enjoy a good and economic alternative to Champagne. What the average EU visitors enjoy about Spain are sunshine, sandy beaches, a warm and friendly atmosphere, and decent food. What they don’t know is that all their Catalan counterparts strive for is exactly the same, only that this right has increasingly been taken from them over recent years.

In the EU we assume that all can enjoy their democratic rights. Not so in Spain, where a corrupt government in Madrid continues to reign despite of having repeatedly been out-voted by the majority of citizens. Party money laundering in Switzerland, real estate crimes, fueling environmental disasters that enrich businesses, everything seems possible under a right-wing regime in Madrid. However, possible doesn’t mean it is tolerated. Over and over have Spanish citizens tried to stand up for their rights, some a bit more, some a bit less. If the Catalans, who for whatever reasons seem to understand and care a bit more than many compatriots in other regions, eventually got so tired of a right-wing government in Madrid that repeatedly ignored Spain’s constitution, laws and regulations, should it really surprise us? Isn’t this latent corruption and carelessness exactly what many of us annoys when we enjoy our holidays in Europe’s far South? Why then should Catalans put up with it while being hold back from further development and hence closer ties to Europe?

If other EU leaders such as Merkel and May defend Rajoy’s dictatorship, then it’s not because of their sympathy for a united Spain. Instead, they see a chance to safe their own cases. Merkel finds herself in a position where she might need to quit her ambitions for eternal power after the outcome of Germany’s election in September and thus give up her long-term competition with her peer Recep T. Erdogan. May has experienced her share of independence aspirations in the recent past and certainly fears further tumults in her own geographic North. Of course they don’t like what is happening in Cataluña, as it further weakens their positions. Rajoy has long done what would suits them too: ignoring the masses and pleasing the few that hold power. Following suit, Merkel and May will be able to unilaterally translate their own agendas into practice as well.

However, their reaction might be of short life. Rather than opposing the movements in Spain, they should understand them as warning signs for what is increasingly building up elsewhere in Europe: we citizens are fed up with governments that don’t care for their people. Brussels has never been further away from its citizens than it is today, regardless of the thousands of kilometers of highways and high-speed trains, and the internet accesses that have been built in the EU. While citizens worry about their neighborhoods and identities steadily disappearing, bureaucrats react with ever more bureaucracy. It can’t work. Connecting with people means understanding their needs and desires. What us Europeans united in the first place is a common understanding of values such as freedom, independence and justice. Where this values are no longer protected, there is nothing to hold us together.

The beauty of the EU is that it could guarantee exactly these values and rights where corrupt governments abuse their power. Instead the EU’s leaders have now decided to do the opposite and further oppress democracy. In the long run this can only end where it all started in 1789: in chaos and with a few heads falling at the guillotine. Maybe it’s the only alternative we people have. In that sense, rather than condemning the Catalans as rebels, we should acknowledge that they are one step ahead of all of us.