STRASBOURG/PARIS: The crisis in Catalonia poses a bigger threat to the EU than Brexit, a senior member of the European Parliament (MEP) warned Wednesday as the European Parliament prepared to hold an emergency debate on Spain’s worst political crisis in decades.
Catalonia’s leader has vowed to declare independence within days, claiming a mandate from a weekend referendum which was declared illegal by Madrid and the Spanish courts and marred by violence.
Images of the police crackdown on the vote drew a vocal reaction from some MEPs, with Belgium’s Philippe Lamberts, the head of the Green grouping in parliament, warning the crisis “threatened the spirit of European integration, even more than Brexit.”
Several Green and far-left deputies criticized the Spanish police for their actions.
But Esteban Gonzalez Pons, an MEP from Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s Popular Party, rejected calls for mediation, saying Spain did not need “looking after.”
“Deciding is Spain should break up or stay united is a matter for Spaniards and only for Spaniards,” he said.
“If today you let Spain break up with Catalonia, a domino effect will follow across the continent. Instead of a Europe of 27 we will have a non-Europe of mini-states.”
The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, broke weeks of silence on Monday to call for dialogue but stressed that it still regarded the vote as an “internal matter” for Spain, drawing criticism from Catalan separatists.
Wednesday’s crisis debate in Parliament is due to kick off at 3 p.m., but Catalonia dominated a morning session on preparations for a summit of EU leaders later this month.
After a proposal by the three main political groups in the European Parliament — the conservatives, the socialists and the liberals — the debate will consider “constitution, rule of law and fundamental rights in Spain in the light of the events in Catalonia.”
This watered-down motion was preferred to a tougher motion criticizing Madrid, proposed by the Greens.
Meanwhile, French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire has said that Britain needed to settle its bill with the EU before beginning talks on a post-Brexit trade deal, declaring: “We want our money back.”
In an interview with France’s CNews channel on Tuesday evening, Le Maire said it was time for Britain — which is wrangling with Brussels over the size of its divorce bill, among other issues — to pay up.
Echoing former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who launched a successful battle to reduce Britain’s payments to the then European Economic Community in 1980 by declaring: “I want my money back,” Le Maire said: “We, Europeans, say to the British: ‘We want our money back’.”
He accused Britain of trying to shirk the commitments it made to the EU’s budget.
“It’s as if you went to a restaurant, ordered a meal, began eating and then walked out in the middle of the meal, saying: ‘I’m not going to pay after all’. That’s not possible,” he said.
The EU reportedly estimates the cost for Britain to leave the union is between €60 billion and €100 billion ($70.7 billion to $118 billion).
Britain’s The Times newspaper reported that Prime Minister Theresa May was prepared to pay 45 billion euros — which her government has denied.
Le Maire backed EU’s Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier, who said Tuesday that the two sides had not made enough progress in their divorce talks to begin discussing a new relationship.
“Let’s find an agreement on the financial settlement, even if it’s not down to the exact euro, and then we can launch the next stages,” he said.
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Catalan crisis ‘bigger threat to EU than Brexit,’ MEP warns
Catalan crisis ‘bigger threat to EU than Brexit,’ MEP warns
Backlash as Australia kills dingoes after backpacker death
- The euthanization program has stirred debate about how to manage the local population of dingoes
- Wildlife experts said killing the animals was the wrong response and may threaten the island’s dingo population
SYDNEY: Australian authorities have sparked a backlash by killing a group of dingoes linked to the death of a young Canadian woman on an island in the country’s east.
The Queensland government said six animals were put down after 19-year-old backpacker Piper James’s body was found on January 19 at a beach on the World Heritage-listed island of K’gari.
The euthanization program has stirred debate about how to manage the local population of dingoes, a sandy-colored canine believed to have first arrived in Australia 4,000 to 5,000 years ago.
An autopsy conducted on James’ body found evidence “consistent with drowning” but also detected injuries corresponding to dingo bites.
“Pre-mortem dingo bite marks are not likely to have caused immediate death,” said a spokesperson for the Coroners Court of Queensland.
The coroner’s investigation into the cause of death was expected to take several weeks.
In response, the Queensland government said a pack of 10 dingoes involved would be euthanized after rangers had observed some “aggressive behavior.”
Six of the dingoes had already been euthanized, the state’s environment minister, Andrew Powell, told reporters Sunday.
“Obviously, the operation will continue,” he said.
The traditional owners of K’gari, the Butchulla people, said the state’s failure to consult with them before euthanizing the dingoes — or wongari in their language — was “unexpected and disappointing.”
“Once again, it feels as though economic priorities are being placed above the voices of the people and traditional owners, which is frustrating and difficult to accept,” the Butchulla Aboriginal Corporation said in a statement to Australian media this week.
‘You are food’
Wildlife experts said killing the animals was the wrong response and may threaten the island’s dingo population, estimated at just 70-200 animals.
Given their small numbers, killing a pack of 10 animals would harm the population’s genetic diversity, said Mathew Crowther, professor of quantitative conservation biology at the University of Sydney.
“There’s no moral from the dingoes’ point of view. They’re just being wild animals, doing wild things,” Crowther said.
Dingoes tend to lose their fear of people as they interact with tourists, some of whom defy advice against feeding the animals.
“That’s the worst thing you can do to a wild animal,” Crowther said.
“They just relate humans to food, and if you don’t give them food, well, you are food — that’s basically how it is.”
Dingoes are wild, predatory animals and need to be treated with respect, said Bill Bateman, associate professor in the school of molecular and life sciences at Curtin University.
The canines are more likely to attack children or people who are alone, and may be triggered when people turn their backs or run, he said.
“These are important animals, and therefore we need to change the way we deal with them, otherwise we’re just going to keep reacting to these attacks and driving the population of dingoes down,” Bateman said.
Wildlife managers, rangers, Indigenous people and tourism operators need to work together so that humans and dingoes can coexist on the island, he said.
Todd James, the father of Piper, has described on social media how his family’s hearts were “shattered” by her death.
News of the dingoes’ euthanization was “heart-wrenching,” he told Australian media, adding however that he recognized it may be necessary for safety because of the pack’s behavior.
The Queensland government said six animals were put down after 19-year-old backpacker Piper James’s body was found on January 19 at a beach on the World Heritage-listed island of K’gari.
The euthanization program has stirred debate about how to manage the local population of dingoes, a sandy-colored canine believed to have first arrived in Australia 4,000 to 5,000 years ago.
An autopsy conducted on James’ body found evidence “consistent with drowning” but also detected injuries corresponding to dingo bites.
“Pre-mortem dingo bite marks are not likely to have caused immediate death,” said a spokesperson for the Coroners Court of Queensland.
The coroner’s investigation into the cause of death was expected to take several weeks.
In response, the Queensland government said a pack of 10 dingoes involved would be euthanized after rangers had observed some “aggressive behavior.”
Six of the dingoes had already been euthanized, the state’s environment minister, Andrew Powell, told reporters Sunday.
“Obviously, the operation will continue,” he said.
The traditional owners of K’gari, the Butchulla people, said the state’s failure to consult with them before euthanizing the dingoes — or wongari in their language — was “unexpected and disappointing.”
“Once again, it feels as though economic priorities are being placed above the voices of the people and traditional owners, which is frustrating and difficult to accept,” the Butchulla Aboriginal Corporation said in a statement to Australian media this week.
‘You are food’
Wildlife experts said killing the animals was the wrong response and may threaten the island’s dingo population, estimated at just 70-200 animals.
Given their small numbers, killing a pack of 10 animals would harm the population’s genetic diversity, said Mathew Crowther, professor of quantitative conservation biology at the University of Sydney.
“There’s no moral from the dingoes’ point of view. They’re just being wild animals, doing wild things,” Crowther said.
Dingoes tend to lose their fear of people as they interact with tourists, some of whom defy advice against feeding the animals.
“That’s the worst thing you can do to a wild animal,” Crowther said.
“They just relate humans to food, and if you don’t give them food, well, you are food — that’s basically how it is.”
Dingoes are wild, predatory animals and need to be treated with respect, said Bill Bateman, associate professor in the school of molecular and life sciences at Curtin University.
The canines are more likely to attack children or people who are alone, and may be triggered when people turn their backs or run, he said.
“These are important animals, and therefore we need to change the way we deal with them, otherwise we’re just going to keep reacting to these attacks and driving the population of dingoes down,” Bateman said.
Wildlife managers, rangers, Indigenous people and tourism operators need to work together so that humans and dingoes can coexist on the island, he said.
Todd James, the father of Piper, has described on social media how his family’s hearts were “shattered” by her death.
News of the dingoes’ euthanization was “heart-wrenching,” he told Australian media, adding however that he recognized it may be necessary for safety because of the pack’s behavior.
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