MEP critical of Spanish Constitutional Court Decision

The Spanish Constitutional Court has passed a judgement striking down 14 articles of the Catalan Statute and reinterpreting 27 more. The statute gave greater power and autonomy for Catalunya. 

This statute was approved in a referendum by the citizens of Catalunya, but the Constitutional Court has interfered with some of its key features such as the financing of Catalunya, powers of the Catalan judiciary and the Catalan language. As a result, Greens/EFA group MEP Oriol Junqueras believes that this development is a full stop for autonomism in Catalunya, leaving independence as the only realistic next step. 

Junqueras said: 

"We as Catalans believe that we need the necessary tools in order to better govern our country in the public interest, and the Constitutional Court has denied us those powers. As a result, the only step left for us to take is independence within the EU. 

The restrictive decision of the Spanish Constitutional Court on the Catalan statute will encourage Catalans to prepare for independence, in the same way that the lack of progress in Belgium encouraged the Flemish to opt for the progressive and pro-European independentist N-VA party in the last Belgian elections. 

The basic principle of the European Union is democracy, and if a majority of Catalans show their support for independence, then I'm sure that the EU will accept their decision. However, taking into account that the EU recognises a double legitimacy, that of the states and at the same time that of the citizens, then in the event that a territory chooses independence, the EU will not be able to deny citizens the rights that they have acquired."