German chancellor Angela Merkel and European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker have held a telephone conversation in which they discussed the crisis in Catalonia. European Union sources have confirmed this to the Reuters agency, assuring that Juncker spoke by phone with Merkel about the conflict from New Delhi, where an India-EU summit is currently underway.
In the phone call, which took place on Friday, the two European leaders talked about the conflict between Catalonia and Spain, among other subjects. Although the details of the conversation have not been revealed, the call between Juncker and Merkel shows the level of European concern about a possible declaration of independence this coming week and the heightening of tensions between Madrid and Barcelona since the referendum on 1st October.
According to the agency, there is growing concern in the European Union about the possible negative impact of the independence of Catalonia on the Spanish economy. Moreover, Reuters assures that in private the European leaders are seen to be concerned about the violence used by Spanish police forces to combat last weekend's referendum.
Meanwhile, sources in the agency have advised that the situation in Catalonia could form part of the discussion in the meeting of Finance and Treasury Ministers to be held on Monday and Tuesday in Brussels, although the subject is not included in the official meeting agenda.
International impact
The phone call comes at the end of a week when the Catalan case has received much attention at international and European levels. After last Sunday's referendum, and the repressive actions taken to disrupt it by the Spanish police forces, and with the possibility of a unilateral declaration of independence ahead, several European leaders have had to take a position and speak out about the Catalan case.
This is also the case of the European Parliament, which last Wednesday held a debate on the Catalan conflict, issuing a unanimous condemnation of the police violence as well as urging dialogue between the Spanish and Catalan governments.
Even though the European Union has given assurances on several occasions that the Catalan case is an internal Spanish matter, and that position was reiterated by the European Commission this week when it refused to initiate any type of mediation in the conflict, the call between the German chancellor and the boss of the European executive shows that events in Catalonia next week are worrying the European block.
On Tuesday, Catalan president Carles Puigdemont is scheduled to appear before the Catalan parliament to explain the consequences of the referendum.