BARCELONA: Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy urged Catalans on Sunday to oust separatists from their regional Parliament in an early election he has called for Dec. 21.
Rajoy told members of his conservative Popular Party in Barcelona that “we want a massive turnout to open up a new period of normalcy.”
Rajoy’s visit to Catalonia’s main city was his first to the northeastern region since he used extraordinary powers to stifle its secession push. After Catalonia’s Parliament voted Oct. 27 in favor of declaring independence, Rajoy responded by firing its government, dissolving its Parliament and calling the early election.
Spain’s Constitution says the nation is “indivisible.”
“It’s urgent to return a sense of normality to Catalonia and do so as soon as possible to lower the social and economic tensions,” Rajoy said Sunday. “The threat of the separatists is destructive, sad and agonizing. Secessionism has created insecurity and uncertainty.”
Polls show a tight race ahead in Catalonia between separatists and those who want the region to remain a part of Spain. In Brussels on Sunday, those favoring independence for Catalonia rallied near the EU quarter.
Rajoy’s conservative Popular Party has won three national elections in Spain since 2011, but it won less than 10 percent of the vote in Catalonia’s regional election in 2015. It continues to poll behind several other parties in the region, including the pro-business Citizens and the Socialists, which are both against secession.
Rajoy defended his decision to temporarily take over running the region under the Constitution, which allows central authorities to intervene in regions whose officials have gone outside the law. Catalonia’s separatists, and even some moderates have criticized the measures as heavy-handed.
“Exceptional measures can only be taken when there is no other option, and we adopted them to stop the increasing attacks to peaceful coexistence” in Catalonia, Rajoy said. “For centuries, centuries, Catalonia and Spain have built a country that is multi-cultural and diverse, and the separatists won’t be allowed to break the ties that bind us.”
Apart from the Catalonia government takeover, a judge has jailed 10 separatist leaders while investigating their roles in promoting secession. Catalonia’s deposed president and four former members of his Cabinet have fled to Brussels where they will fight extradition. Rajoy linked the continued economic recovery of Spain, and especially Catalonia, to the removal of pro-independence parties from power.
Over 2,000 companies have relocated their headquarters from Catalonia due to fears of being cast out of the EU’s common market in the case of secession. Employment numbers also showed that Catalonia fell behind other parts of Spain in October.
“The instability is slowing Catalonia’s capacity to create jobs,” Rajoy said. “But I say that the recovery of legality and normalcy will help reactivate the economy.”
Spanish PM urges Catalans to vote separatists out of office
Spanish PM urges Catalans to vote separatists out of office
India, EU agree on trade deal slashing tariffs on 99.5% of Indian exports
- Agreement expected to be signed later this year and come into force in early 2027
- Duty cuts on 99.5% Indian exports to EU unlikely to offset US tariff impact, expert says
NEW DELHI: India and the EU have concluded negotiations on a deal creating a free trade zone of 2 billion people, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday.
Talks for the pact, referred to by both leaders as the “mother of all deals,” started in 2007 and stalled repeatedly over the years, with the negotiation process only speeding up last year, following new US tariff polices.
The agreement is expected to be signed later this year and may come into force in early 2027.
“People around the world are calling it the ‘mother of all deals.’ This agreement brings huge opportunities for India’s 1.4 billion people and for millions of people across European countries,” Modi said during a joint press conference with Von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa in New Delhi.
“It represents 25 percent of the global GDP and one-third of global trade.”
The deal paves the way for India to open its vast market to free trade with the EU, its biggest trading partner, and gain preferential access for almost all of its exports to the 27-nation European bloc.
“We have created a free trade zone of 2 billion people, with both sides set to gain economically,” Von der Leyen said. “We have sent a signal to the world that rules-based cooperation still delivers great outcomes.”
The conclusion of negotiations comes as US President Donald Trump slapped India with 50 percent tariffs and has threatened to impose new duties on several EU countries unless they support his efforts to take over Greenland.
“This is a signal to the US that like-minded entities, EU and India, are willing to come together and work together,” Prof. Harsh V. Pant, vice president of the Observer Research Foundation, told Arab News.
“Here are two countries that are bringing in a greater predictability and less volatility in their relationship, and they will move ahead irrespective of what the US does.”
The deal is expected to double EU goods exports to India by 2032 as tariffs on 96.6 percent of EU goods exports — from automobiles and industrial goods to wine and chocolates — will be eliminated or reduced, saving up to $4.75 billion per year in duties on European products, according to a European Commission press release on Tuesday.
At the same time, the EU will eliminate or reduce tariffs on 99.5 percent of goods imported from India over seven years, India’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry said in a statement, projecting gains mainly in labor-intensive sectors like textiles, leather, marine products, gems and jewelry.
“Indian services will also benefit from the trade deal. But, more than just export growth, the deal is part of a broader EU-India alliance on green tech, critical raw materials, digital rules and other aspects, which should channelize higher FDI (foreign direct investment) into India,” said Dr. Anupam Manur, professor of economics at the Takshashila Institution.
“India can potentially have a welfare and income gain of 0.5 percent of its GDP in the long run. It would also boost Indian exports to the EU by about $5 billion from the current level of about $76 billion.”
The agreement is unlikely to fully compensate for a slowdown in trade with the US.
“In the near term, this will partially offset the loss of exports to the US due to tariffs but cannot be expected to entirely mitigate it. Shifting supply chains and exports take time,” Manur said.
“The implementation of the FTA would take about a year’s time. The deal is expected to come into force by early 2027.”
