The former minister of Foreign Affairs José Manuel García-Margallo this Tuesday criticised the behaviour of the Spanish government in relation to the Catalan independence movement and said that "it's necessary to think about an offer for the Catalan people".
In an interview with the radio station Onda Cero, Margallo admitted that the Spanish government "should have made a move earlier" but that, based on the current situation, "it will be necessary to make an offer, not so much to make the separatists happy but to attract those that during the last few years have oscillated between wanting to remain an autonomous community and wanting to become an independent country".
The ex-minister also referred to the Constitutional reform proposed by PSOE and said that he agrees with it, as long as there is no debate about the unity of Spain. "It could be useful to debate about the Senate, to clarify the devolution of powers and the principles of a new funding model," he added.
Shortly afterwards, in an interview on TV channel La Sexta, Margallo reiterated that "there cannot be an [independence] referendum" in Catalonia on 1 October and said that the Spanish government has "an arsenal of measures" in the Constitution that it can use to make sure it doesn't happen.