Vice President of European Commission denies that an independent Catalonia would be forced out of EU

Originally published in Ara.Cat on September 30, 2012 Translated with permission.

The European Commission confirms that "there is no law that says that Catalonia must leave the EU if it becomes independent"

The Vice president, Viviane Reding, said in an interview with the Diario de Sevilla that "it never occurred to her for a second that Catalonia would want to leave the EU". The commissioner says she has “perfect confidence in the European mentality of the Catalans”.

Another important voice in Brussels recognizes that there is no legal framework that stipulates that an independent Catalonia would be forced out of the European Union. The vice president of the European Commission adds to what another commissioner and Vice President of the EC, Joaquín Almunia said some weeks ago.

In an interview with the Diario de Sevilla, Reding says that she “never thought for a second that Catalonia would want to leave the EU”. “I have known the Catalans for a long time, and I am one of the few non-Catalans who has received the Saint George's Cross, and I know that are profoundly European,” she explained to the paper.

Reding was clear and definitive when the journalist finished the interview by saying that the Vienna Convention says that a state that becomes independent must abandon all of the international organizations of which it previously was part. “Come on, man, the international legislation doesn't say anything of the kind about that. Please, resolve your own internal problems in Spain. I have perfect confidence in the European mentality of the Catalans,” said Reding.