"It is time to bring this rupture to an end with serenity, prudence and with the goal of recovering our co-existence", says Mariano Rajoy

Lower House of Parliament, Madrid

In his appearance in the Lower House of Parliament to report on the government's position on the political situation in Catalonia, the President of the Government, Mariano Rajoy, recalled that the Council of Ministers decided on Wednesday morning to formally demand the Regional Government of Catalonia to confirm whether or not it has declared independence.

"The future will be shaped by the response from Mr Puigdemont to this demand", he stressed. "He added that "it is in his hands to return to legality and re-establish institutional normality, as everyone is calling him to do, or to prolong this period of instability, tension and the breakdown of co-existence in Catalonia. I fervently hope he makes the right decision".

Mariano Rajoy stated that the President of the Regional Government of Catalonia has until 10 am next Monday to clarify if he has declared independence, regardless of whether or not it is in force. In the event that the response is affirmative or no response is provided, he will be required to order the revocation of said declaration of independence, to which end he has been set a deadline of 10 am on Thursday 19 October.

The President of the Government underlined that Spanish democracy has been going through "one of the most serious periods in its recent history" in recent days, since the situation does not boil down to a dispute over powers or differences between public authorities. "We are being put into question and this defiance of such principles as the rule of law and the deliberate break-up of harmony between our citizens comes before any political discussion", he pointed out.

Illegal and fraudulent referendum

Mariano Rajoy maintained in his speech that "the problems being suffered in Catalonia are the simple and inevitable consequence of the institutional crisis that they have deliberately and irresponsibly been stirring up there for many months now".

The governors in that region, he argued, have used their institutional position "to perpetrate a disloyal and highly dangerous attack on our Constitution, the unity of Spain, the Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia and, what is worse, on citizens peacefully living side-by-side". The violation of the law has had such consequences as "disorder, division among Catalans and lastly, companies fleeing the region", he remarked.

Pool Moncloa/ César P. SendraAccording to the President of the Government, the referendum that the Regional Government of Catalonia sought to hold on 1 October was "the latest episode in a political strategy designed to impose independence that few people want and is good for no-one in Catalan or Spanish society as a whole".

Mariano Rajoy declared that no-one should feel satisfied "at either the farcical voting or at the crude manipulations" of the police and the Guardia Civil on 1 October".

Nothing that happened that day "should have happened", he added, "but the only people responsible are those who forced through this call for a referendum when they were fully aware that is was absolutely unfeasible". "The only guilty parties are those who insisted on continuing with their challenge to the Constitution and organised groups of activists to prevent the law enforcement agencies complying with their judicial mandate".

In his opinion, "the farce of 1 October was not a democratic exercise, but an anti-democratic exercise", and everything that has happened since then "has been none other than the inevitable consequences of this break from legality".

However, what is fundamental, stated Mariano Rajoy, is that this referendum "has been an outright failure, as was certified last week by the Central Electoral Board", and hence, "no alleged result of this illegal and fraudulent referendum can be used as an argument to legitimise any political decision and, much less so, the independence of Catalonia".

Catalonia: dialogue and aid

Mariano Rajoy stressed his continued interest in dialogue to resolve the problems in Catalonia, as can be seen by the fact that he has held more meetings with those responsible for the Regional Government of Catalonia than for any other Spanish region. "The governors in Catalonia cannot allege that there was no dialogue with them because that is quite simply untrue". Nor can they allege that this region has not received aid, since Catalonia had access to almost 70 billion euros through liquidity mechanisms, approximately one third of the national total, he pointed out.

Pool Moncloa/ César P. SendraFurthermore, the President of the Government warned that "it is not possible to accept, under the appearance of misguided dialogue, the unilateral imposition of perspectives that they know are impossible for one of the parties to accept".

Nor is it possible to establish dialogue, he argued, to "negotiate on the ownership of sovereignty that belongs to the Spanish people as a whole and on the indivisibility of Spain" because this is expressly prohibited in the Constitution.

Mariano Rajoy explained that it is possible to talk about the amount and the quality of public services, financing, improving self-governance, about combining efficiency and solidarity, and about accountability. And the framework for living together could be improved within the framework of the existing bodies.

"We can talk about anything that the Constitution and the law allows us to talk about and with all those who are willing to talk. We can even propose a reform of our Constitution", underlined the President of the Government, "but only through the rules and procedures provided for therein". In this regard, Mariano Rajoy expressed an interest in "actively participating" in the Committee on the development and modernisation of the Regional State proposed by the PSOE [Spanish Socialist Workers' Party] and to start tp work now".

Proportionate and comprehensive response

To tackle the "deliberate strategy to break Catalonia away from Spain against the wishes of most Catalans and the Spanish people as a whole", the State's response "has been in line with the law, and both proportionate and comprehensive", argued Mariano Rajoy.

The President of the Government reviewed the "systematic action of all the State powers", that managed to deprive the consultation on 1 October of "any form of legitimacy". The result is that "there is not a single country in the world that has taken the least bit seriously" the events of that day. He also added that the State acted as any other democratic country would have done and he thanked those who "in an exemplary manner, and despite very difficult conditions, complied with their duty to defend the common good", "within the law and to uphold the law".

Return to legality to avoid economic downturn

The President of the Government referred to the dozens of companies that contributed to the prosperity of Catalonia and yet have announced they will leave this region "in view of the threat of a breakaway". Similarly, he highlighted that several rating agencies have downgraded their rating for Catalonia and that "the tourism sector is proving to be one of the hardest hit by this instability".

Mariano Rajoy predicted that the situation will get worse "until such time as order is restored, together with legal certainty and the rule of law". To achieve that, he added, "it is vitally important to return to legality as soon as possible and avoid continued tension and an economic downturn".

Spain will not be split up

The President of the Government called on those responsible for the regional institutions to bring an end "to this breakaway that is harming the people of Catalonia so much". "Never before in its history have the people of Catalonia enjoyed so many freedoms, so much autonomy, so many funds to spend, along with so much international recognition. That is all at risk now", he stated.

The "unforgiving reality", he continued, has shown, at the stroke of a pen, the entire false basis on which the myth of a fairy-tale independence had been based. "It is not peaceful, it is not free and it will not be recognised by Europe. Everyone now knows the cost, which is very high".

On this point, the President of the Government reiterated that a fraudulent referendum cannot "sweep away a region of 7.5 million people, or the fourth largest country in the European Union".

Precisely to avoid that, the President of the Government called for "responsible and generous support" from those who are prepared to defend our Constitution and our way of life together".

Future of Catalonia

Pool Moncloa/ César P. SendraMariano Rajoy argued that "the future of Catalonia and the tranquillity of its citizens depend on closing this fracture in society and healing the wounds that so many tales and so much radicalism have caused to its social being".

"We must aspire to rediscover this culturally mixed Catalonia that has contributed so much to the well-being and progress of Spain. And to achieve that we must rely on the pro-agreement and integrating Catalanism that has always had a comprehensive vision of its country and which has managed to make its achievements universal", he added.

In his opinion, "today's Spain cannot be understood without the contribution of this constitutional and pro-European Catalanism that was a necessary collaborator in our collective successes".

Mariano Rajoy ended his speech by expressly acknowledging "the thousands of Spaniards who have taken to the streets in recent days, including in Catalonia, to spontaneously express their patriotism, their love for their country, including from very different political positions". They have done so, he said, "without histrionics, without exclusions, but with the joy of acknowledging each other as colleagues in the same common cause".

"For all of those people it is now time to bring an end to this rupture and do so with serenity, with prudence and with the ultimate goal of recovering our co-existence", he concluded.

Non official translation