BRUSSELS (Sputnik) — The minister expressed support for Spain's northwestern autonomous region of Catalonia, which desires to receive independence from Spain and urged all sides of the dispute to sit down at the negotiating table.
“My heart is with the Catalans. I am a Flemish nationalist, and therefore I understand the situation with Catalonia,” Jambon, who is a member of center-right New Flemish Alliance party, told the broadcaster RTBF.
The interior minister noted that the conflict between Madrid and the Catalan authorities escalated to the extent of needing international mediators to intervene.
On Sunday, Catalonia held an independence referendum despite the fact that the vote had been previously ruled illegal by the Spanish Constitutional Court. Several violent clashes between state police and pro-independence activists on the voting day, and resulted in the injury of nearly 1,000 people. Madrid's actions in Catalonia triggered criticism across Europe and prompted concern among rights watchdogs.
Catalan authorities on Monday announced that 90 percent of Catalonia's population voted in favor of independence from Spain during Sunday's referendum. Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, meanwhile, said that there had been "no referendum," but assured that the government was ready to conduct a dialogue within the region.
