Germany, France back Spain unity – ‘Stop Catalan independence’

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BARCELONA, Oct 9, (Agencies): Spain’s opposition Socialist party chief Pedro Sanchez called Monday on Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont to “stop everything” as he threatens to formally declare independence within days. “If he’s watching us, if he’s listening, stop everything and don’t declare unilateral independence,” he told reporters in Barcelona, as pressure mounted on Catalan separatist leaders vowing to break away from Spain.

Pressure mounted on Monday against Catalan vows to break away from Spain after hundreds of thousands of protesters rallied to defend national unity, but the region’s leader maintained his threat to formally declare independence possibly within days. The protests followed days of soaring tensions after police cracked down on voters during a banned Oct 1 Catalan independence referendum, prompting separatist leaders to warn they would unilaterally break away from Spain. Catalan separatists have called on Puigdemont to declare independence in defiance of the central government when he addresses the regional parliament on Tuesday evening. He hinted in an interview on Sunday that the region would go ahead and declare independence if Madrid continues to refuse dialogue. Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria told the COPE radio station Monday that “if they declare independence, there will be decisions to restore the law and democracy.”

Catalan independence would not enjoy international recognition, France’s minister for European affairs said Monday as the Spanish region’s leader threatens to announce a split. “If there were a declaration of independence it would be unilateral and it wouldn’t be recognised,” Nathalie Loiseau said on CNews digital news channel. “This crisis needs to be resolved through dialogue at all levels of Spanish politics,” she urged. The minister also reiterated Brussels’ warning that an independent Catalonia would “automatically” be out of the EU and have to reapply to join. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has stressed her backing for the “unity of Spain” in a phone call with Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy amid a threat by Catalan separatists to declare independence, her spokesman said Monday. In the weekend phone call, Merkel “affirmed her backing for the unity of Spain, and both sides exchanged views on ways in which internal

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