US Endorses Spain’s Takeover of Catalonia, NATO and EU Mum

Regional Officials Decline to Recognize Independent Catalonia

Catalonia’s declaration of independence on Friday looks to be an uphill battle for them, with no one in the region endorsing the effort, and both NATO and the European Union saying they consider what Spain decides to do a purely “internal” matter.

NATO says they consider the breakaway Republic a “domestic” issue, while the EU insists they will only deal with Spain’s government, and have no intention of changing their policy to accommodate the Catalans.

That level of indifference is a better result for Catalonia, however, than the US State Department’s position, as they’ve announced that they are totally opposed to Catalan independence and support anything Spain does to keep their kingdom “strong and united.

Most of the nations in Europe are concerned that a successful Catalonia secession would lead to more secession around the continent. There are dozens of active secession movements across Europe, which could grow substantially if Catalonia proves it is possible to do so.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.