EU Summit Is Dull -- Crisis Intensifies in Barcelona and Madrid

FLASH 19 OCT 21:15 (Ankara time)

Little progress on any important issue in today’s European Council Summit in Brussels. Donald Tusk and Jean-Claude Juncker have just finished addressing the journalists. The main topics discussed by the heads of the Member States have been limited to financing the Italian effort to stop immigration to Europe from Africa, and to concerns over civilians’ safety after the recent fires in Portugal.

Questions from the media, and answers thereto:

- The Catalonian crisis: “There is no space” for the EU mediate among the conflicting parties (Tusk).

- Northstream 2:  No unanimous position among the 28 for negotiating with Russia. It may take time for the Commission to receive a mandate from the European Council to discuss the project with Moscow (Juncker).

The members of the European Council are now gathering for a ‘working dinner.’ It is possible that Brexit and the attitude to adopt in respect to Turkey’s application for membership will be discussed.

The Summit will continue tomorrow, 20 October.

Catalunya

The ultimatum given last week by the Spanish government to the Catalan regional government to disclose clearly whether it had decided, or not, to declare independence for the Autonomous Region of Catalunya, expired this morning at 10:00 a.m. CET. 

The Spanish cabinet will meet in an extraordinary meeting on Saturday in order to enact Art. 155 of the Spanish Constitution—a move which will trigger the suspension of all rights of self-governance granted to the autonomous region.

Latest dispatches from Madrid confirm that large units of the Guardia Civil (armed Spanish gendarmerie) are on the move from various provinces towards Barcelona, where they will take positions ahead of Saturday’s ministerial meeting.

Sources from both camps express vivid concerns as to the reactions of the sizeable number of Catalan separatists (over 2.2 million voters). The confrontation may escalate to armed conflict.