Following a secret ballot, MPs in the Catalan parliament declared independence from Spain, with the regional leader Carlos Puigdemont saying the people had completed “a long-desired step.” Lawmakers opposed to independence boycotted the vote. The assembly’s speaker announced that the motion was passed with 70 votes in favor, 10 against, and two blank ballots, according…
Asked to name the defining attributes of the America we wish to become, many liberals would answer that we must realize our manifest destiny since 1776, by becoming more equal, more diverse and more democratic — and the model for mankind’s future. Equality, diversity, democracy — this is the holy trinity of the post-Christian secular…
One of the first signals of the desire of the Europeans to join the political games in South-East Asia (the key sub-region of the Asia-Pacific Region) was the speech by former French Minister of Defence Jean-Yves Le Drian at a security conference (the so-called Shangri-La Dialogue) that is held annually in Singapore. This speech focused on the…
Call it theatre of the absurd – with a lethal subtext. Under pressure from all corners – even Donald Tusk, president of the EU Council – in his fateful date with destiny Carles Puigdemont, President of Catalonia, came up with some last-minute judo dialectics. He issued a non-denial denial Unilateral Declaration of Independence from Spain….
Catalonia’s separatist campaign has dominated European headlines for the past couple of weeks, but it’s really the northern Belgian region of Flanders which will serve as a barometer over whether large chunks of the EU will fall apart into a collection of identity-centric statelets prior to the bloc’s reconstitution into a “federation of regions”. What’s…
The Popular Party (PP) government in Spain has dispatched troops into Catalonia. The media reported that this was to provide support to the Civil Guard and national police in preparation for a declaration of independence by Catalan President Carles Puigdemont. According to information leaked to El Confidencial, the Ministry of Defense has dispatched army units,…
