• About Us
  • Who Are We
  • Work With Us
Sunday, April 18, 2021
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Globe Post
39 °f
New York
44 ° Fri
46 ° Sat
40 ° Sun
41 ° Mon
No Result
View All Result
The Globe Post
No Result
View All Result
Home Opinion

Playing with Fire: EU Must Be Careful of Fanning Euroscepticism in Spain

Ojel L. Rodriguez by Ojel L. Rodriguez
01/07/20
in Opinion
Women hold Spanish, Catalan, and European flags during a demonstration against Catalonia's independence in front of the European Parliament building in Strasbourg

Women hold Spanish, Catalan, and European flags during a demonstration against Catalonia's independence. Photo: Patrick Hertzog, AFP

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

The past decade has been turbulent for the European Union. While the bloc saw progress with centralization and European-wide policies, the departure of the United Kingdom will define the political project’s fate for the foreseeable future. In the upcoming years, the European Union will have to deal with emerging nationalist politics within member states. Spain is a country to watch.

Spain’s transition into a western-style democracy with the adoption of the constitution in 1978 made it a prime target for E.U. membership. Spain joined in 1986, and since then, Euroscepticism has been slowly growing in the kingdom. Since the constitutional and political crisis after Catalonia’s 2017 independence referendum, this has become more evident.

Rising nationalist sentiments had been brewing in the autonomous region of Spain for a long time. Tensions escalated when Catalonia voted for independence, which the Spanish state subsequently deemed unconstitutional.

The nationalist-led Catalonian government then unilaterally declared independence, which forced Madrid to impose direct rule over the region. Local government was eventually restored, but political leaders at the time of the referendum were indicted with nine found guilty of sedition and other charges.

During the crisis, the European Union refused to intervene and mostly backed Madrid, which pushed Catalonia’s nationalists into an increasingly Eurosceptic direction. But nationalists in Catalonia are not Brussels’ only headache. A recent decision by the E.U. Court of Justice may drive another nationalist movement in Spain towards Euroscepticism.

EU Court Ruling

Last month, the E.U. court ruled that Catalan separatist political Oriol Junqueras was covered by immunity as a Member of the European Parliament when the Spanish Supreme Court jailed him in October, meaning that Spain should have released Junqueras to allow him to become an MEP after the European Parliament elections of May.

The ruling has unleashed the Eurosceptic side of rising Spanish nationalism with the word “Spexit” trending in the country. The outrage has been led by leaders and members of the far-right, neo-Francoist party Vox.

Vox’s leader tweeted, “Spain (as other countries do) should not abide by any judgment of those who attack our sovereignty and security; Vox is not going to allow any more humiliations.”

España esta sufriendo un gravísimo ataque a su soberanía y por lo tanto, a su Constitución. A este ataque hoy se han sumado los tribunales europeos.
Después de que varios países "aliados" cuestionen y humillen a nuestra justicia, ahora el Tribunal Europeo de Justicia de la UE…

— Santiago Abascal (@Santi_ABASCAL) December 19, 2019

These reactions are troubling for the European Union. Vox performed well in Spain’s general elections of November, and it’s the third-largest party in the Spanish legislature.

This has to be tied to recent polling findings in the Eurobarometer showing rising discontent with the European Union in Spain. In Spain, the E.U. is now facing two rising Eurosceptics movements: the Catalan and Spanish nationalists. The key question is how the E.U. should proceed.

Little Room to Maneuver

The reality is that Brussels has little room to maneuver. If it stays on de sideline in Catalonia’s independence debate, it stirs up Euroscepticism within Catalonian nationalists; if it chooses to intervene, the same will be true for Spanish nationalists. Instead, Brussels should favor a policy of non-interference.

The E.U. member states are a hotbed of nationalist movements, and siding with the Catalonian nationalist will inflame similar movements around the continent. Moreover, Vox’s political rise can be paralleled with the influence of Nigel Farage’s UKIP and the influence the Brexit party had in U.K. politics.

Traditional party politics are reeling in Spain, and if Vox were to adopt a more Eurosceptic stance, it might erode support from the main right-wing faction, the Popular Party. In turn, future leaders of the Popular Party will take a more hardline approach to questions relating to Europe, similar to what happened with the Conservative Party in Britain.

In the upcoming decade, the European Union will face rising nationalist sentiments in Spain and no doubt other member states. The Polish Supreme Court, for example, already warned that the country might have to leave the bloc. This will be a crucial test for policymakers in Brussels, and if the reaction from Spain is any indication, they must learn fast.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of The Globe Post.
ShareTweet
Ojel L. Rodriguez

Ojel L. Rodriguez

Freelance writer and graduate from King’s College London

Related Posts

Aung Thura, a Burmese journalist for BBC News, at Myanmar's parliament in Naypyidaw, January 27, 2020.
Media Freedom

BBC Journalist Freed in Myanmar as EU Prepares Sanctions

by Staff Writer
March 22, 2021
Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny.
Democracy at Risk

Moscow Expels EU Diplomats Over Navalny Protests

by Staff Writer
February 5, 2021
European Council President Charles Michel
World

EU Could Ban Vaccine Exports Under New Checks

by Staff Writer
January 28, 2021
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson
World

Britain Holds Crisis Meeting Over Virus Travel Ban

by Staff Writer
December 21, 2020
Refugees in the Mediterranean
Featured

EU Border Agency Investigates ‘Pushback’ Claims

by Staff Writer
October 27, 2020
Cyber attack
World

Russia Dismisses Hacking Allegations as ‘Russophobia’

by Staff Writer
October 20, 2020
Next Post
Protesters shout slogans during a demonstration against India's new citizenship law in Allahabad on December 19, 2019

Dozen Hurt in Fresh Indian Student Clashes

Migrant children looking though a fence at the US-Mexico border

US Will Send Some Mexican Asylum Seekers to Guatemala: DHS

Recommended

Raul Castro

CIA Planned to Assassinate Raul Castro in 1960: Declassified Documents

April 17, 2021
Myanmar, Buddhists

Myanmar’s Junta Releases 23,000 Prisoners in New Year’s Amnesty

April 17, 2021
Blogger Roy Ngerng

Singapore Activist Crowdfunds $108,000 to Pay PM Libel Damages

April 16, 2021
cyber security

Figuring Out SolarWinds Hack as US Sanctions Russia

April 15, 2021
President Joe Biden

Biden Warns Taliban, Presses Pakistan as He Announces Afghan Exit

April 14, 2021
Egyptian journalist Solafa Magdy (R) and her photojournalist husband Hossam El-Sayed

Egypt Frees Journalist Couple After Jail Time

April 14, 2021

Opinion

A candlelight vigil in Garden Grove, California, after the shooting that left eight people dead in Atlanta, including six Asian women

American Nightmare: The Asian-American Experience

April 17, 2021
Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson delivers a speech, 2016

The Hippocratic Oath Stops at the Arkansas Border

April 8, 2021
Erdogan Threatens to Open Europe Gates for Refugees

Turkey’s Latest Crackdown Spells Dangerous New Normal for Human Rights Defenders

March 29, 2021
President Biden speaks about the Colorado shootings at the White House.

US Gun Violence: Biden, You Need to Do Something. Now

March 26, 2021
COVID Stimulus Checks: Does Victory Include Abandoning the Most Vulnerable?

COVID Stimulus Checks: Does Victory Include Abandoning the Most Vulnerable?

March 25, 2021
A couple wearing facemasks to prevent the spread of coronavirus watch the sunset from Elysian Park in Los Angeles, California, last month.

Why We Should Expect a Roaring ’20s 2.0 for Our New Normal

March 16, 2021
Facebook Twitter

Newsletter

Do you like our reporting?
SUBSCRIBE

About Us

The Globe Post

The Globe Post is part of Globe Post Media, a U.S. digital news organization that is publishing the world's best targeted news sites.

submit oped

© 2018 The Globe Post

No Result
View All Result
  • National
  • World
  • Business
  • Interviews
  • Lifestyle
  • Democracy at Risk
    • Media Freedom
  • Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Columns
    • Book Reviews
    • Stage
  • Submit Op-ed

© 2018 The Globe Post