It is not necessary to draw any parallel between the referendum in Catalonia and events in some regions of Ukraine. This was stated in a comment to “Gordon” by the Head of Kyiv city organization of UKROP, Chairman of the Board of “Maidan of Foreign Affairs” Fund Bohdan Yaremenko.
“There is no parallel with the Ukrainian events here. I personally do not see it,” noted Bohdan Yaremenko.
At the same time, he stresses that for Ukraine the process of the EU member states’ fragmentation is not good, because it weakens the European Union: “But this is the case when we can only observe and hope that Spanish and Catalan politicians will be intelligent enough to resolve the issue in a political way”.
He also explains the crisis of the Spanish referendum with a number of ethnic, political and economic reasons. Catalonia is one of the richest regions. The adherents of its separation emphasize the fact that the region pays much more to the Spanish budget than it receives from it.
“Now everything depends on how well the Spanish politicians will be able to settle this crisis. It is not necessary to say that the rights of the Catalans are somehow limited. In Spain, it is the region with the highest level of autonomy. It develops normally,” adds Bohdan Yaremenko.
According to the diplomat, the Catalans appeal to the experience of the Scots who have recently held a referendum on withdrawal from the UK. However, it should be understood that in Scotland similar voting takes place every 20-40 years. In addition, the voting turnout of 50% at the previous referendum in Catalonia has shown that for most residents of the region, this issue is not very relevant.
Meanwhile, the representative of UKROP considers that instability in the EU plays into the hands of Russia. However, Moscow does not actively influence the situation in Catalonia. In general, several political forces in Europe use people’s dissatisfaction with economic difficulties as a chance to come to power.
“This problem has been known long ago, therefore, it is not worth drag Moscow in here. Although we all understand that Russia sees in the European Union a threat to its domination on the continent,” said Bohdan Yaremenko.
