After the Catalan president asked for a mandate to declare Catalonia an independent state, the European Union’s largest states and the EU itself, provided an assessments of the results of the referendum.
Earlier it was reported that France had refused to accept Catalonia's declaration of independence and considers the conflict to be a Spanish internal affair.
"The solution to the crisis should be based on the Spanish constitution, and respect its legitimacy," Agnes Romantet-Espagne, a French Foreign Ministry official, stated regarding the briefing.
On Tuesday, Catalan President Carles Puigdemont declared that sovereignty is the only form of maintaining self-governance for Catalonia. Puigdemont emphasized that the recent independence referendum reveals the willingness of Catalans to live in a sovereign republican state.
The declaration of independence: “We constitute the Catalan Republic as an independent, sovereign State” https://t.co/MgtDECsXOX #Catalonia pic.twitter.com/iRsmHM8S04
— This is Catalonia (@ThIsCatalonia) 11 октября 2017 г.
As for the EU reaction to the referendum, on Wednesday, EU Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis called for an end to the dispute over the vote in Spain, urging respect for the Spanish constitutional order. Previously, EU officials had labeled the tensions triggered by the referendum an internal affair of Spain. The European Commission also referred to the matter as an internal issue between Madrid and Barcelona.
#Europe: Catalonia Crisis: Rajoy and Puigdemont each try to back the other into a corner https://t.co/D1phh9Wksh
— WatsupEurope (@watsupeurope) 11 октября 2017 г.
Moreover, French government spokesman Christophe Castaner also called for discussions within the framework of the Spanish constitution.
"It is not France that should interfere in Spanish internal affairs," he added.
Besides, Germany would not support Catalonia’s secession from Spain if the Catalan authorities decide to unilaterally declare independence, German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said on Wednesday.
"A unilateral declaration of Catalan independence would be irresponsible. Our shared European experience has taught us that Europe’s strength lies in its unity and the peace that European integration has brought. The demonstrations of the last few days have shown that Catalonia’s population is divided on the question of independence," Gabriel said in a statement.
Tory minister says Catalonia referendum illegal. So were actions of Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Ghandi, Suffragettes, George Washington,…
— Peter Grant MP (@PeterGrantMP) 10 октября 2017 г.
“The situation is complicated. I think that a mediator is needed, international or any other type, to sit down at the [negotiating] table … at a certain point in time the request for recognition of an independent Catalonia will be on the table of the international community,” Jambon, a member of center-right New Flemish Alliance party, told the broadcaster RTBF.
Meanwhile, on October 1, more than 90 percent of Catalans voted for sovereignty in a referendum which the Spanish government declared illegitimate. Spain's King Felipe VI described the vote as an attempt to "break the unity of Spain and national sovereignty, which is the right of all the Spanish people to decide democratically." However, several violent clashes between state police and pro-independence activists took place on the voting day and resulted in the injury of nearly 1,000 people. Meanwhile, Madrid's actions in Catalonia triggered criticism across Europe and prompted concern among rights watchdogs.
