EU – CATALONIA DIALOGUE PLATFORM MANIFESTO

9th European Parliament term

We, members of the European Parliament from different political groups and different European countries, have freely and voluntarily decided to join the EU – Catalonia Dialogue Platform with the aim of promoting dialogue and a political solution to the conflict between Catalonia and Spain. This solution will be based on democratic values and principles and will take into account the right to self-determination.

We are concerned about the stalemate that this political conflict seems to have reached, without a significant process of political dialogue between the Catalan and Spanish institutions, with ongoing processes against politicians and officials involved in the October 2017 referendum, and with an imminent sentence against the imprisoned politicians and civil society leaders, in unjustified preventive detention since November 2017, that will only aggravate the situation.

We are convinced that political conflicts involving the legitimate aspirations of a significant part of any democratic society will never be resolved through police violence or criminal law.

We join our voices to demand on each side that they make a gesture of responsibility in favor of meaningful dialogue and negotiations that can unblock the situation and move towards a political agreement. At the same time, we encourage the EU institutions to play an active role in promoting this democratic and political approach.

Healthy democracies need dialogue to progress and they should always participate in the promotion of peace and fundamental rights. Therefore, we call on the EU institutions, in their role as guardians of the EU treaties and the fundamental rights of citizens, to urgently adopt measures to guarantee full respect and promotion of human rights within the EU.

The action of the EU – Catalonia Dialogue Platform is based on the following guiding principles:

  • Claim the release of the Catalan political and social leaders who are in prison and the safe return of the exiles.
  • Urge the European Parliament and the Spanish authorities to guarantee the civil and political rights of democratically elected Catalan politicians who have been arbitrarily prevented from fulfilling their mandates.
  • Urge the European institutions to facilitate a democratic solution to the conflict, which has a clear EU dimension.
  • Insist on the need for a negotiated agreement between Spain and Catalonia, respecting the democratic right to self-determination. Return to politics and abandon the repressive measures and the “judicialization” of the conflict.

As members of the European Parliament, representing the voice of EU citizens, we will closely monitor how the situation evolves in order to defend and ensure that the fundamental principles on which the European Union is founded are respected.

It is not the purpose of this Group to intervene in the debate on the independence of Catalonia, since this is an issue that Catalans will have to debate and decide on their own.

Brussels, July 2019

Founding manifesto