Comments by "peabase" (@peabase) on "Catalonia protesters bring Barcelona to standstill" video.

You're confused. The Catalonian separatists have no quarrel with Brussels; they have one with Madrid. Separatists all over Europe see the EU as a lifeline. Haven't you heard about the Scottish SNP wanting to leave the UK and immediately apply for EU membership? I know conspiracy theorists prefer to cherry-pick their facts, but reality is a good, well, reality check.
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Francoism is alive and well. Sod democracy, eh?
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@thomaskirchberger7401 You'll find that smaller countries are almost without exception pro-EU. They see the merits of co-operation rather going head on with bigger countries, whose economic and political might they cannot possibly match. The EU evens the playing field, allowing these countries to thrive where they would otherwise struggle. Trump is a case in point. He'd love to extract trade concessions from individual EU members, bypassing the EU altogether, but instead he has to deal on equal terms with the EU. Where even a regional economic powerhouse like Germany would cave in to Trump's demands, the EU can stand firm. Besides, what's the difference between someone from, say, Nieder-Sachsen, relinquishing some political power to the German federal government as opposed to, say, a Dutchman vis-à-vis the EU? You could say the Dutch have cut out a middleman.
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Make an offer for it.
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@sergiocampa5281 The UN Charter has an article, the very first one in fact, about the right to self-determination. Constitutional hurdles are just that, hurdles. I wonder for how long Spain can deny the Catalans their right to express their desire for independence in this day and age. There have been and there will be more such referendums -- Scotland, Northern Ireland and Belgium come to mind -- and the Catalans will rightfully ask themselves why they're denied a choice in the matter.
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Oh, you can generalise and say that every democratic country in the whole world supports the HK pro-democracy protesters. But being equipped by them, that's a fantasy of yours, no doubt concocted for pain relief purposes. After all, looking in the mirror is painful when you see something you don't like.
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@Mossycak I'm "Western", but I couldn't care less about Nancy Pelosi and self-aggrandising American journalists, whose news reports are more show than news. You should concentrate on how to address the legitimate grievances of the HK protesters rather than cry foul about foreign sympathies and concoct conspiracy theories around foreign involvement. The protests are bad enough, but you look downright silly by blaming foreign actors. It's like from a dog-eared Communist textbook: when in doubt, blame the "West".
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Maybe. Soon enough, there will be a referendum, a legal one this time. Spain isn't China, after all.
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@sergiocampa5281 I see you're still trying to wrangle yourself out of this with legal technicalities. The UN Charter is intentionally vague, as the principles therein should be reflected in local law. Spanish law seems to drag behind that of other European countries, which do allow status referendums. With such precedents in place, the problem won't go away by thumping on law books.
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@sergiocampa5281 At first, I felt I should thank you profusely for such a lengthy exposé on the illegitimacy of Catalan independence, but now I'm thinking you just forwarded a canned message. We could discuss at length how Urgh and Murgh living in the same cave and hunting woolly mammoth in the summer of 20,000BC affects Catalan independence, but at the end of the day, the only thing that matters is how the present-day Catalans -- not Spaniards in general or their prehistoric ancestors -- decide. You're under the assumption that borders are set in stone, but as an apparent history buff you should know that's far from the truth. Spain is not exempt and neither are the other examples you gave. Whether it's in our lifetime or a few more down the road, the bigger countries in Europe will fragment into smaller entities in one form or another. I believe the EU is and should be instrumental in this development. Nations states were formed to protect themselves against external threats. With such threats largely eliminated, the bigger nation states will naturally disband.
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You're letting your imagination get the better of you. I strongly believe it's in everyone's interest to let Europe reshape itself into smaller entities, which tend to perform better on their own. Separatism is on the rise and will grow stronger still. The EU is the perfect framework to enable this and keep everyone playing together nicely.
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@thomaskirchberger7401 I'd like to repay your kindness, but then again you haven't contributed anything to the discussion apart from your vague opinion. You remind me of a spoiled child, surrounded by candy wrappers, who threatens to run away from home if he isn't given more candy. Nothing is enough.
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