The Catalonia crisis seen in Bucharest

Bucharest follows closely and with interest the recent events in the Spanish region of Catalonia.

Daniela Budu, 31.10.2017, 13:22

Romania has reiterated its firm support for Spain’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, rejecting the unilateral declaration of independence of Catalonia. A press release of the Romanian Foreign Ministry says that Spain is an important ally and strategic partner of Romania, a relationship reflected both bilaterally, within the EU, and internationally. Any process or any action related to the internal order of a state is legitimate only if it fully complies with its fundamental law and the rule of law in the respective state — the press release also says.

Under these circumstances, Romania stands for the observance of international law, which does not allow territorial transformations without the agreement of the state concerned. The situation in Catalonia pertains to the internal order of Spain, the Romanian diplomacy underscores in the press release, expressing hope that the constitutional order will be restored in that state as soon as possible.

The Ministry for Romanians Everywhere has announced that it follows closely and with interest the recent events in the Spanish region of Catalonia. Its press release says that ever since the referendum on Catalonia’s independence was held, the Ministry’s monitoring team has been permanently in touch with the Romanian associations and parishes in the region, with Romania’s diplomatic mission on Spanish soil, in order to get to know the real situation of the over 130,000 Romanian nationals in Catalonia, of the nearly one million currently residing in Spain.

The Ministry for Romanians Everywhere recommends that Romanian nationals should contact the Romanian authorities to report any situations that might impair their safety. Romanian nationals are also called upon to report to the Romanian diplomatic missions any situations that might impair their workplace relationships and their ties with the local officials and institutions, as well as other incidents triggered by the current circumstances.

The Ministry for Romanians Everywhere has presented a set of facilities provided by the Romanian Government which Romanian nationals wishing to come back home can access. Romanian nationals in Catalonia can convey any messages in electronic format to the Ministry’s monitoring team.

For the time being, the Catalonia political crisis, where the local Parliament has unilaterally declared the region’s independence, a measure followed by the decision of the central government in Madrid to temporarily take over the region’s direct administration, is not affecting Romanian nationals in Catalonia significantly, as representatives of several Romanian associations and Romanian citizens working in Spain have stated. However, the latter admit that in the coming period, certain Romanians are likely to become jobless, just like certain Catalans.