Spain appeals court to close Catalan missions abroad

By Beyza Binnur Donmez

ANKARA (AA) – Spanish government on Monday sought intervention of the Higher Court of Justice of Catalonia, to stop activities of Catalan missions in Europe, alleging that they were promoting secessionism.

The government pleaded the court, to take measures, to limit activity of three missions located in Germany, the U.K. and Switzerland.

Catalonia is a semi-autonomous region in northeast of Spain. In a referendum held in 2017, declared illegal by Spain's Constitutional Court, about 90% of Catalan voters backed independence.

Angry at the referendum, the Spanish government sacked the ruling Catalan separatist leaders, dissolved parliament and called a snap regional election in December 2017, in which nationalist parties won.

Spanish Foreign Ministry in a statement declared activities of Catalan delegation harmful to the interests of the state.

“It has been found that the work carried out by the delegations in Germany (Berlin), the U.K. and Ireland (London) and Switzerland (Geneva) strongly pursue goals of the secessionist process in Catalonia that has been declared unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court on several occasions," said the statement.

Following dissolution of the Catalan parliament in 2017, its missions in the U.S., France and Italy were closed.

On June 2018, Catalan government had announced to reestablish missions in Italy, the U.S., France, Switzerland, Germany, the U.K. and Ireland, despite opposition from the Spanish Foreign Ministry.