El manifiesto ‘Por una Europa mejor integrada’, redactado tras el golpe de octubre de 2017, y remitido a los entonces líderes europeos el 11 de julio de 2018 por los eurodiputados españoles firmantes, critica la deriva secesionista en Cataluña como proyecto ‘oligárquico, clasista, identitario y emocional’ que dañó ‘la economía de una región próspera’, dividió a los ciudadanos y socavó las bases de la UE con la connivencia de una parte importante de la izquierda catalana. Partiendo de este análisis, se demanda una ‘mayor integración política de todas las instituciones comunitarias’ para preservar lo ya conseguido y frenar el ascenso de populismos y nacionalismos insolidarios en el seno de la Unión.
El documento contó con el apoyo de ilustres académicos, como los alemanes Claus Offe y Axel Honneth —de orientación marxista, y principales representantes de la tercera generación de la Escuela de Frankfurt— o Mattias Kumm, director del Centro para el Constitucionalismo Global (WZB); los italianos Pier Virgilio Dastoli, presidente del Consejo Italiano del Movimiento Europeo, o el filósofo Salvatore Veca; Barbara Loyer, directora del Instituto Francés de Geopolítica; etc.
Hoy, los discursos identitarios y la fragmentación política siguen cuestionando los valores fundacionales de la Unión. En Cataluña continúa el ‘clima de acoso y violencia simbólica e institucional’—el delito de odio que aprecia la Audiencia de Barcelona no es sino la punta del iceberg que denuncian asociaciones como Impulso Ciudadano, SCC, AEB, Docentes Libres, etc.— inherente al proceso de ‘construcción nacional’, ahora liderado por un PSC que decreta las normativas de esa ‘ingeniería etno-lingüística’ y exige la condonación de la deuda regional, un cupo catalán insolidario y una amnistía (inconstitucional) para los golpistas; mientras que el gobierno del PSOE exporta al resto del estado el modelo catalán de ocupación institucional —ineficiente, corrupto y violador del principio de ‘neutralidad administrativa’— en beneficio del partido.
En un contexto marcado por la guerra en el continente, el avance de la extrema derecha y la necesidad de una respuesta común a los grandes retos globales —desde la transición ecológica hasta la desigualdad social—, aquel llamamiento a una Europa más unida y solidaria adquiere renovada fuerza y sentido.
POR UNA EUROPA MEJOR INTEGRADA
CARTA ABIERTA A LOS PRESIDENTES EUROPEOS SRES. JUNCKER, TUSK Y TAJANI
Señores Presidentes Juncker, Tusk y Tajani:
En la carta “Upholding the rule of law in the European Union” del 31 de octubre, se acusaba al gobierno de ‘violar sistemáticamente el estado de derecho en España’. Francesc de Carreras y Josu de Miguel ya la rebatieron contundentemente, demostrando que fueron las autoridades catalanas, y no el gobierno central, quienes lo violaron. Pero Europa todavía necesita comprender qué ha pasado y por qué, para evitar que algo así se repita en otras regiones ricas de la UE.
¿Qué ha pasado? Las élites catalanas convirtieron las instituciones regionales –políticas, sociales y mediáticas- en ‘estructuras de Estado’ paralelas, poniéndolas al servicio del secesionismo y vulnerando así la neutralidad administrativa, un principio democrático fundamental. Presionaron a profesores de Universidad, periodistas y jueces, usaron a la policía autonómica como policía política para espiar a políticos, empresarios y asociaciones, como Sociedad Civil Catalana [premio Ciudadano Europeo 2014], generando un clima de acoso y violencia simbólica que se acompaña ya de una violencia institucional. Pretenden imponernos su arbitraria voluntad, suplantando la legítima coerción del Estado y la vigencia de ley democrática. Esto, junto con las recurrentes campañas para desacreditar a la democracia española, la propagación de mentiras oficiales, la manipulación de la historia y el adoctrinamiento de los niños en las escuelas, más propio de regímenes totalitarios, vulnera nuestra Constitución y viola los derechos de millones de catalanes.
Además, han dañado gravemente la economía de una región próspera. La deuda autonómica sólo se sostiene gracias a los fondos estatales (FLA), que suman ya 52.5 miles de millones de euros; y, desde el intento de golpe de Estado de septiembre/octubre, más de 4.000 empresas se han ido, mientras que la inversión extranjera caía.
El secesionismo, convertido en un proyecto oligárquico, clasista, identitario y emocional, ha partido la sociedad catalana en dos, con graves consecuencias políticas y económicas para Cataluña y para toda España. El proyecto europeo, democrático y progresista, no puede ser ambiguo con los nacionalismos sin traicionar el fundante principio de solidaridad.
¿Por qué? Esta crisis social, política y económica no es consecuencia del centralismo: España ya es uno de los países más descentralizados del mundo. Las regiones controlan Educación, Sanidad y Servicios sociales; y Cataluña, Navarra o País Vasco disponen incluso de su propia policía autonómica. Navarra y País Vasco, dos de las autonomías más ricas, se benefician incluso de privilegios fiscales que son inconstitucionales, pero tolerados por los Gobiernos nacionales para mantenerse en el poder.
De hecho, el autogobierno ya ha ido demasiado lejos, dado que el alto nivel de autonomía fiscal del que disfrutan las regiones, 1º) dispara la competencia desleal entre ellas, y 2º) niega de hechoel principio desolidaridad. Hay dos razones principales tras estas cesiones de poder y recursos públicos: a) la mala definición constitucional de los límites autonómicos; y b) las estrategias de movilización de los partidos políticos, los socialistas PSOE y PSC en particular, que permitieron a las élites nacionalistas [a cambio de apoyos parlamentarios puntuales para alcanzar el poder] desarrollar procesos de ingeniería etno-lingüística, de ‘construcción nacional’, y así ampliar su poder y su base electoral, haciendo uso de clientelismo y la corrupción sistémica, como muestran el caso Palau o el del clan Pujol. El fomento del nacionalismo, así como el pacto con los separatistas radicales en 2012 y espolear a las masas en busca de insolidarios pactos fiscales, ayudó a las élites a encubrir parte de esa corrupción.
Sin embargo, la UE también es responsable de esta situación, al menos por lo que respecta a las siguientes 6 cuestiones:
1. El Parlamento Europeo facilitó la violación de derechos lingüísticos al aprobar, en 2009, una enmienda contraria al propio informe de la comisión de Cultura, que preveía la elección de lengua vehicular de enseñanza allí donde coexistan una o más lenguas oficiales. Los nacionalistas recurrieron al artículo 22 para tratar a los niños hispano-hablantes como extranjeros, eliminando el español del currículo en su anhelo de instaurar un ideal identitario premoderno, totalizante y lingüísticamente unidimensional. Su negación de la diversidad cultural catalana está en la fuente de la actual crisis social.
2. Un presupuesto integrado sólo por el 1% del PIB de los EEMM incentiva la secesión en las regiones más ricas porque les ofrece moneda y mercado únicos, pero ahorrándoles la solidaridad fiscal más allá de sus fronteras. Hace poco, los ciudadanos de las prósperas Lombardía y Véneto votaron abrumadoramente por una mayor autonomía y el próximo paso lógico será la construcción nacional: si creen, como los separatistas catalanes, que podrían reingresar rápidamente en la UE, intentarán incluso independizarse. Luego, en una UE de tan limitada solidaridad fiscal, podrán incluso, siguiendo a varios EEMM, convertirse en paraísos fiscales y oponernos su competencia desleal.
3. A pesar del éxito que supuso, hoy el euro está ampliando -y no reduciendo- la brecha económica inter-regional. La crítica es bien sabida: no tiene sentido que, por culpa de intereses nacionales (exacerbados probablemente con la crisis), el euro siga con las mismas carencias de articulación política que cuando se creó hace 20 años.
4. El FMI y otras autoridades han mostrado que la ‘austeridad’ retrasa la recuperación económica. Pero los países acreedores (Holanda, Alemania, etc.) volvieron a exigírsela a los deudores en la Cumbre Europea de diciembre. Esta estrategia ya ha castigado injustamente a Portugal, Italia, Grecia y España (los conocidos como ‘PIGS’) y sólo conduce a la ‘irracionalidad y el suicidio colectivos’.
5. El ‘Brexit’ ejemplifica el fracaso político de la UE y revela los riesgos que acechan tras las lógicas nacionalistas, victimistas e identitarias: un incremento del PIB en el RU superior a la media europea no pudo impedirlo. Las políticas clientelistas y la integración mercantil no han reforzado el sentimiento de pertenencia a un espacio común de derechos y obligaciones compartidos, a un “demos europeo”.
6. El caso de Puigdemont ilustra tanto las limitaciones actuales del espacio europeo (en este caso, respecto a la Orden de Detención Europea), como la amenaza planteada por el tecno-populismo. Con una decisión «plagada de fallas de procedimiento«, los magistrados regionales equipararon una protesta contra una decisión administrativa en los años 80 con los constantes ataques a la soberanía del Estado [el Estatuto catalán, etc.], es decir, con un golpe de estado incruento. Destruir «los cimientos del reconocimiento mutuo y de la cooperación judicial» es la forma más segura de desgarrar a la UE.
Como ciudadanos europeos, estamos orgullosos de los logros que hemos alcanzados juntos, desde la libre circulación o la moneda única hasta iniciativas que muestran realmente la voluntad de unir, como el programa Erasmus; y no podemos permitir que los nacionalismos y populismos nos roben el sueño de un futuro compartido más justo y solidario, ni que desaten su egoísmo, promoviendo el supremacismo y la fractura social como solución a la crisis económica. Pero la única forma de enfrentarse al discurso excluyente de los demagogos es ofrecer a los ciudadanos una narrativa mejor.
Reclamamos, por lo tanto, una mayor integración política de todas las instituciones comunitarias. La formación de partidos políticos trans-europeos, con programas comunes de solidaridad fiscal, justicia social y cesión de soberanía nacional hacia Europa, consolidaría el concepto de ciudadanía europea. Confiamos en que sabrán ustedes dar nuevo impulso a esta iniciativa, que ya fue planteada hace 25 años, siguiendo el legado político de Ventotene, Schuman o Monnet, y atendiendo los principios de solidaridad y progreso para todos que legitiman el proyecto europeo. Asimismo, la UE debería facilitar el avance, entre los países de la eurozona que lo deseen, hacia unos “Estados Unidos de Europa”.
No debemos olvidar que la integración económica no fue nunca el fin sino el medio para construir un espacio compartido de soberanía y libertad, de paz y solidaridad entre los pueblos europeos. Y también con el resto del mundo.
THE NEED FOR CLOSER EUROPEAN INTEGRATION
OPEN LETTER TO EUROPEAN COMMISSION PRESIDENT JUNCKER, EUROPEAN COUNCIL PRESIDENT TUSK AND EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT PRESIDENT TAJANI
Dear Sirs,
In the open letter “Upholding the Rule of Law in the European Union” [final draft 3rd November], the Spanish government was accused of “a systematic violation of the Rule of Law in Spain”; but Josu de Miguel and Francesc de Carreras proved conclusively that it was the Catalan authorities who violated it, not the central government. It would seem that Europe has yet to understand the ‘what’ and the ‘why’ of this crisis, if it is to prevent it from spreading to other rich regions in the EU.
What has happened? The Catalan elites turned the regional institutions into political, social and media-related parallel ‘structures of State’ at the service of secession, thus breaching administrative neutrality, a pillar of democracy. They have brought pressure to bear upon professors, journalists and judges, used the autonomous police (Mossos) as a political police to spy on politicians, businesspeople and civil organisations such as SCC [European Citizen Award 2014], and encouraged a social climate of harassment and symbolic violence that went hand-in-hand with institutional violence. In this way they set out to impose their arbitrary will on us, supplanting the legitimate coercion of the state and the force of democratic law. This, together with recurring campaigns to discredit Spanish democracy, the official lies, manipulation of history and indoctrination of children more akin to totalitarian regimes, has meant the violation of the democratic rights of many Catalans and the Constitution itself.
They also mismanaged the economy of a thus far thriving region. Catalan debt is now unserviceable [other than by central government FLA loans of €52.5bn so far] and, following the September and October attempted coup d’état, more than 4,000 firms left the region, while foreign investment fell.
Having evolved into an oligarchy-led, class and identity-driven, emotional movement for secession, Catalan nationalism has split Catalan society down the middle, with dire political and economic consequences for the region and for Spain as a whole. A democratic and progressive European project cannot be ambiguous with nationalism, lest it betray the principle of solidarity which underpins it.
Why has it happened? This social, political and economic crisis cannot be due to centralism, as Spain is one of the world’s most decentralised countries. The regions have control over education, health and social services, while Catalonia and the Basque Country also have their own police force. Navarre and the Basque Country, two of the richest regions, enjoy unique fiscal privileges as well as further, unconstitutional funding that national political parties in government often surrender in order to stay in power.
Indeed, it can be argued that self-government has gone ‘too far’, as the high level of fiscal autonomy enjoyed by the regions, 1) ‘sets them against each other’, and 2) flouts ‘the very idea of solidarity’. There are two main reasons behind these transfers of power and public resources: (a) the ill-defined limits to autonomy set in the Spanish Constitution; and (b) the mobilisation strategies of the political parties, the socialist PSOE and PSC in particular, allowing the nationalist elites [in exchange for support in power when needed] to engineer ethno-linguistic ‘nation-building processes’ which have enlarged their local power bases through patronage and, often, systemic corruption, as in the Palau and Pujol clan cases. Unleashing nationalism also helped them to cover up most of their corruption, as did their deal with the radical separatists in 2012 and engaging the masses in the pursuit of a selfish tax agreement.
Nevertheless, the EU also bears a great deal of responsibility for the situation on at least six counts:
1. The EU Parliament facilitatedthe violation of linguistic rights by passing a Motion in 2009 rejecting its own Culture Commission’s report on the right to choose the language of teaching. The nationalists used Art. #22 as a pretext to continue treating Spanish-speaking children as foreigners and thus uproot Spanish from the curriculum in pursuit of a pre-modern, totalitarian, unidimensional (linguistic) idea of identity. Their denial of Catalonia’s cultural diversity is at the source of the current social breach.
2. A European budget made up of just 1% of its member states’ GDP encourages secession in the richer regions, as it offers them the benefits of market and currency integration without the need to extend solidarity beyond their borders. Thus the citizens of wealthy Veneto and Lombardy have voted for more autonomy, but ‘nation building’ is the next logical step: if they believe that they could rejoin the EU, as the Catalan separatists believed, they would also attempt to secede. And, in an EU currently devoid of fiscal solidarity, they could even join several of their fellow member nations in practising fiscal dumping against the rest by becoming some of the world’s worst tax havens.
3. In spite of its success, the euro is widening, rather than closing, the inter-regional economic gap. Its predicament is well known: it cannot be saved in its present form, given that there is the same lack of political coordination today as there was two decades ago when it was first created, because of the persistence of ‘national self-interests’, perhaps exacerbated by the economic crisis.
4. The IMF and other experts have shown that ‘austerity’ actually delays economic recovery. But the creditor countries (Holland, Germany, etc.) insisted yet again on demanding it from the poorer ones at last December’s European Summit. This strategy has already punished Portugal, Italy, Greece & Spain (the so-called ‘PIGS’) unfairly and is ‘nothing less than collective suicide and irrationality’.
5. ‘Brexit’ exemplifies the EU’s political failure and the dangers lurking behind the politics of identity and victimhood; the UK’s above average rise in GDP since joining the EU could not prevent it. Subsidy policies and market integration have not been sufficient there to foster a sense of belonging in a symbolic, ‘European demos’, a space with responsibilities as well as rights.
6. The Puigdemont affair illustrates both the current limitations of that space (e.g. the EAW) and the threat posed by techno-populism. In a ruling ‘riddled with procedural flaws’, regional magistrates equated a protest against a managerial decision in the 80s with recurring acts against the sovereignty of the State [the Catalan Statute, etc.], i.e. a bloodless coup d’état. Destroying ‘the foundations of mutual recognition and judicial cooperation’ is the surest way to unravel the European Union.
As European citizens, we are proud of what we have achieved in common, from the freedom of movement or the common currency to truly sharing initiatives like Erasmus; and we cannot allow nationalism and populism to shatter our dream of a closer and fairer future together, or to peddle self-interest, social division and supremacy as a way out of the crisis. But the only way to deny demagogues their divisive narrative is to offer European citizens a better one.
We therefore request a closer integration of all the European institutions. Pan-European political parties with a programme of fiscal solidarity, social justice and transfer of national sovereignty to Europe, would foster the concept of European citizenship. So we trust that you will recover this initiative, which was already put forward by the European Parliament 25 years ago, in line with the political legacy of Ventotene, Schuman and Monnet and the principles of solidarity and progress for all that underpin the EU. The EU should also facilitate the transition towards a ‘United States of Europe’ to those countries within the euro zone that wish to do so.
We must bear in mind that economic integration was never the end, but the means to build a shared, sovereign space of peace, liberty and solidarity for the European peoples — and the rest of the world.
POUR UNE EUROPE MIEUX INTÉGRÉE
LETTRE OUVERTE AUX PRÉSIDENTS EUROPÉENS MM. JUNCKER, TUSK, ET TAJANI
Messieurs les Présidents,
Dans la lettre « Upholding the rule of law in the European Union » datée du 31 octobre 2017, le gouvernement espagnol se voyait accusé de violer systématiquement l’État de droit en Espagne, mais Josu de Miguel et Francesc de Carreras ont prouvé de façon concluante que ce furent les autorités catalanes, et non le gouvernement central, qui le violèrent. Il semblerait que l’Europe doive encore comprendre le « quoi ? » et le « pourquoi ? » de cette crise, afin d’éviter qu’elle se propage à d’autres régions riches au sein des États membres.
Qu’est-il arrivé ? Les élites catalanes ont converti les institutions régionales en « structures d’État » politiques, sociales, et médiatiques parallèles au service de la sécession, bafouant ainsi la neutralité administrative, un pilier de la démocratie. Elles ont exercé une pression sur des professeurs, des journalistes, et des juges, utilisé la police autonome (Mossos) comme une police politique pour espionner des hommes et femmes politiques, entrepreneurs, et organisations civiles comme la SCC (Prix du Citoyen Européen 2014), créant un climat de harcèlement et de violence symbolique qui s’accompagne déjà d’une violence institutionnelle. Elles prétendent nous imposer leur volonté arbitraire, supplantant la coercition légitime de l’État et l’application de la loi démocratique. Cela, conjointement avec les campagnes récurrentes pour discréditer la démocratie espagnole, la propagation de mensonges officiels, la manipulation de l’Histoire et l’endoctrinement des enfants des écoles, plutôt associés aux régimes totalitaires, porte atteinte à notre Constitution, et bafoue les droits de millions de Catalans.
En outre, elles ont gravement malmené l’économie d’une région prospère. La dette autonomique ne peut à présent être soutenue qu’avec des prêts du FLA (Fonds de liquidité des autonomies), qui atteint déjà 52,5 milliards d’euros, et depuis le coup d’État de septembre/octobre 2017, plus de 4 000 entreprises ont quitté le territoire, alors que l’investissement étranger s’effondrait.
Le sécessionnisme, transformé en un processus oligarchique, classiste, identitaire et émotionnel, a divisé la société catalane en deux, avec de graves conséquences politiques et économiques pour la Catalogne et toute l’Espagne. Un projet européen démocratique et progressiste ne peut être ambigu avec les nationalismes sans trahir le principe de solidarité qui le fonde.
Pourquoi est-ce arrivé ? Cette crise sociale, politique, et économique ne peut résulter du centralisme : l’Espagne est déjà l’un des pays les plus décentralisés au monde. Les régions contrôlent l’éducation, la santé, et les services sociaux, et la Catalogne, la Navarre, ainsi que le Pays basque possèdent même leur police autonome. La Navarre et le Pays basque, deux des autonomies les plus riches, jouissent de privilèges fiscaux qui sont inconstitutionnels, mais tolérés par les gouvernements nationaux pour se maintenir au pouvoir.
De fait, l’autogouvernement est déjà allé trop loin, puisque le niveau élevé d’autonomie fiscale dont bénéficient les régions 1°) les dresse les unes contre les autres, et 2°) sape l’idée même de solidarité. Deux raisons principales expliquent ces transferts de pouvoir et de ressources publiques : (a) la mauvaise définition de l’autonomie dans la Constitution espagnole, et (b) les stratégies de mobilisation des partis politiques, les socialistes PSOE et PSC en particulier, qui ont permis aux élites nationalistes [contre des appuis parlementaires ponctuelles pour accéder au pouvoir] de développer des processus d’ingénierie ethno-linguistique, de « construction nationale », qui ont élargi leur pouvoir et leur base électorale par le clientélisme et la corruption systémique. En témoignent les affaires du Palau de la Música et du clan Pujol. L’encouragement du nationalisme, l’accord avec des séparatistes radicaux en 2012, et la poursuite d’accords fiscaux égoïstes aux dépens des masses, aidèrent les élites à dissimuler partiellement cette corruption.
Toutefois, l’Union européenne porte également une responsabilité dans cette situation, pour six raisons au moins :
1. Le Parlement européen a facilité la violation de droits linguistiques en approuvant en 2009 la motion rejetant le rapport de sa propre Commission de Culture sur le droit de choisir la langue d’enseignement. Les nationalistes ont utilisé l’Art. 22 comme prétexte pour continuer à traiter les enfants hispanophones comme des étrangers, supprimant ainsi l’espagnol de l’enseignement en poursuivant une idée (linguistique) passéiste, totalitaire, et unidimensionnelle de l’identité. La négation de la diversité culturelle de la Catalogne est à l’origine de la fracture sociale actuelle.
2. Un budget européen n’intégrant que 1 % du PIB des États membres encourage la sécession dans les régions les plus riches en leur offrant les bénéfices de l’intégration commerciale et monétaire sans leur demander en retour la solidarité au-delà de leurs frontières. Récemment, les citoyens des riches régions de Lombardie et Vénétie ont voté massivement pour plus d’autonomie, et la construction nationale apparaît logiquement comme la prochaine étape. S’ils croient, comme les séparatistes catalans, pouvoir rejoindre rapidement l’Union européenne, comme les séparatistes catalans l’ont cru, ils tenteront même de prendre leur indépendance. Ensuite, dans une Union européenne à la solidarité fiscale si limitée, ils pourraient même rejoindre plusieurs autres États membres, devenir des paradis fiscaux, et nous infliger leur compétence déloyale.
3. Malgré son succès, l’euro élargit aujourd’hui, au lieu de la combler, la brèche économique interrégionale. La critique est bien connue : il n’y a pas de sens à ce que, à cause des intérêts nationaux, probablement exacerbés par la crise, l’euro souffre des mêmes carences d’articulation politique que lors de sa création voici 20 ans.
4. Le FMI et d’autres experts ont démontré que l’austérité retarde la reprise économique. Mais, les pays créanciers (Pays-Bas, Allemagne, etc.) l’ont pourtant de nouveau exigée de leurs débiteurs lors du Sommet européen de décembre 2017. Cette stratégie a déjà puni injustement le Portugal, l’Italie, la Grèce, et l’Espagne (les fameux ‘PIGS’), et n’apporte rien d’autre que « l’irrationalité et le suicide collectifs ».
5. Le « Brexit » illustre l’échec politique de l’UE et les risques que dissimulent les logiques nationalistes, victimistes, et identitaires : l’accroissement du PIB du Royaume-Uni suite à son adhésion à l’UE n’a pu l’empêcher. Les politiques clientélistes et l’intégration commerciale n’ont pas renforcé le sentiment d’appartenance à un espace commun de droits et d’obligations partagés, à un « demos européen ».
6. L’affaire Puigdemont illustre autant les limitations actuelles de l’espace européen – en l’espèce, concernant le Mandat d’arrêt européen – que le défi lancé par le techno-populisme. Par une décision truffée d’erreurs de procédure, les magistrats régionaux ont placé au même niveau une protestation contre une décision managériale des années 1980 et des actes réitérés contre la souveraineté de l’État [Statut d’autonomie catalan, etc.], c’est-à-dire un coup d’État non violent. Saper « les ciments de la reconnaissance mutuelle et de la coopération judiciaire » est le plus sûr moyen de détruire l’Union.
Comme citoyens européens, nous sommes fiers des conquêtes obtenues en commun, de la libre circulation à la monnaie unique en passant par des initiatives de partage véritable comme le programme Erasmus. De même, nous ne pouvons laisser des nationalismes et des populismes nous voler notre rêve d’un avenir partagé plus juste et solidaire, ni laisser libre cours à leur l’égoïsme en encourageant leur suprématisme et la division sociale comme solution à la crise économique. Mais, l’unique manière de contrer le récit excluant des démagogues consiste à offrir aux citoyens européens un meilleur récit.
Nous réclamons, par conséquent, une plus grande intégration politique de toutes les institutions communautaires. La formation de partis politiques transeuropéens, avec des programmes communs de solidarité fiscale, de justice sociale, et de transfert de souveraineté nationale vers l’Europe consoliderait le concept de citoyenneté européenne. Nous comptons sur vous pour donner une nouvelle impulsion à cette initiative, déjà présentée voilà 25 ans par le Parlement européen, conformément à l’héritage politique de Ventotene, Schuman, et Monnet, et aux principes de solidarité et de progrès pour tous qui légitiment le projet européen. En outre, l’UE devrait faciliter l’avancée, parmi les États de la zone euro qui le souhaitent, vers des « États-Unis d’Europe ».
Nous devons nous souvenir que l’intégration économique ne fut jamais la fin, mais le moyen pour construire un espace partagé de souveraineté et de liberté, de paix et de solidarité entre les peuples européens. Ainsi qu’avec le reste du monde.
LA NECESSITÀ DI UNA MAGGIORE INTEGRAZIONE EUROPEA
LETTERA APERTA AL PRESIDENTE DELLA COMMISSIONE EUROPEA JUNCKER, AL PRESIDENTE DEL CONSIGLIO EUROPEO TUSK E AL PRESIDENTE DEL PARLAMENTO EUROPEO TAJANI
Gentilissimi Signori,
Nella lettera aperta “Sostenere lo stato di diritto nell’Unione europea” [bozza finale del 3 novembre], il governo spagnolo è stato accusato di ‘una violazione sistematica dello stato di diritto in Spagna’; ma Josu de Miguel e Francesc de Carreras hanno dimostrato in modo decisivo che sono state le autorità catalane a violarlo, non il governo centrale. Sembra proprio che l’Europa debba ancora capire il cosa e il perché di questa crisi, se davvero vuole impedire che si estenda ad altre regioni ricche nell’UE.
Cos’è successo? Le élite catalane hanno trasformato le istituzioni regionali in ‘strutture dello stato’ parallele, politiche, sociali e legate ai media che sono al servizio della secessione, violando così la neutralità amministrativa, un pilastro della democrazia. Esse hanno esercitato pressioni su professori universitari, giornalisti e guidici, hanno usato la polizia autonoma (Mossos) come polizia politica per spiare politici, uomini d’affari e organizzazioni civili come la Sociedad Civil Catalana [European Citizen Award 2014] e hanno incoraggiato un clima sociale di prepotenze e violenza simbolica, che è andata di pari passo con la violenza istitutionale. In questo modo esse si sono riproposte di imporci la loro volontà arbitraria, soppiantando la legittima coercizione dello stato e la forza della legge democratica. Questo, insieme a campagne ricorrenti con lo scopo di screditare la democrazia spagnola, a menzogne ufficiali, alla manipolazione della storia e all’indottrinamento dei bambini, tutte pratiche più affini a regimi totalitari, ha significato la violazione dei diritti democratici di molti catalani e della Costituzione stessa.
Esse hanno anche gestito male l’economia di una regione fino ad allora così fiorente. Il debito catalano è ora inutilizzabile [finora a parte i prestiti FLA del governo centrale per 52.5 miliardi di euro] e, dopo il tentativo di colpo di Stato in settembre / ottobre, oltre 4.000 imprese hanno lasciato la regione, e gli investimenti stranieri sono diminuiti.
Evolvendosi in un movimento emotivo per la secessione guidato da una classe e da un’identià oligarchiche, il nazionalismo catalano ha diviso a metà la società catalana, con conseguenze politiche ed economiche terribili per la regione e per la Spagna nel suo complesso. Un progetto europeo democratico e progressista non può essere ambiguo nei confronti del nazionalismo, per tema di non tradire il principio di solidarietà che lo sostiene.
Perché è successo? Questa crisi sociale, politica ed economica non può essere imputata a centralismo, in quanto la Spagna è uno dei paesi più decentralizzati al mondo. Le regioni hanno il controllo sull’istruzione, la sanità e i servizi sociali, mentre la Catalogna e i Paesi Baschi hanno anche le proprie forze di polizia. La Navarra e i Paesi Baschi, due delle regioni più ricche, godono di privilegi fiscali unici e di ulteriori finanziamenti incostituzionali a cui i governi nazionali spesso accettano per rimanere al potere.
In effetti, si può sostenere che l’autogoverno ha ecceduto, in quanto l’alto livello di autonomia fiscale goduto dalle regioni ha risultato in: 1) metterle l’una contro l’altra, e 2) smentisce l’idea stessa di solidarietà. Ci sono due ragioni principali alla base di questi trasferimenti di potere e di risorse pubbliche: (a) i limiti imprecisi dell’autonomia stabiliti nella Costituzione spagnola; e (b) le strategie di mobilitazione dei partiti politici, i socialisti PSOE e PSC in particolare, che consentono alle élite nazionaliste [in cambio di supporto al potere quando necessario] di progettare processi etnolinguistici di “costituzione della nazione” che hanno allargato le loro basi di potere locali usando pratiche di clietelismo e di corruzione sistemica, come nei casi di Palau e del clan Pujol. L’avanzare del nazionalismo li ha anche aiutati ad insabbiare la maggior parte dei loro metodi di corruzione, così come successe con il loro accordo con i separatisti radicali nel 2012, e il coinvolgimento delle masse nel perseguimento di un accordo fiscale egoistico.
Tuttavia, l’UE ha anche una gran parte di responsabilità per la situazione su almeno sei punti:
1. Il Parlamento europeo ha facilitato la violazione dei diritti linguistici approvando una mozione nel 2009, che respingeva la sua stessa relazione della Commissione Cultura sul diritto di scegliere la lingua di insegnamento. I nazionalisti usavano l’art. # 22 come pretesto per continuare a trattare i bambini di lingua spagnola come stranieri e quindi eliminare lo spagnolo dal programma di studi secondo un’idea pre-moderna, totalitaria, unidimensionale (linguisticamente) di identità. Il loro diniego della diversità culturale della Catalogna è all’origine dell’attuale infrazione sociale.
2. Un bilancio europeo composto da appena l’1% del PIL dei suoi Stati membri incoraggia la secessione nelle regioni più ricche, poiché offre loro i vantaggi dell’integrazione di mercato e valuta senza la necessità di estendere la solidarietà oltre i loro confini. Così i cittadini ricchi del Veneto e della Lombardia hanno votato per una maggiore autonomia, ma la “costruzione della nazione” è il passo logico consequenziale: se credessero di potersi ricongiungere all’Unione, come credevano i separatisti catalani, tenterebbero anche loro di separarsi. E, in un’Unione europea attualmente priva di solidarietà fiscale, potrebbero addirittura unirsi a molti degli altri Paesi membri nella pratica del dumping fiscale contro il resto dei Paesi, diventando tra i peggiori paradisi fiscali del mondo.
3. Nonostante il suo successo, l’euro sta allargando, piuttosto che restringendo, il divario economico interregionale. La critica è ben nota: non può essere salvato nella sua forma attuale, dato che oggi c’è la stessa mancanza di coordinamento politico di due decenni fa quando fu creato, a causa della persistenza di ‘interessi particolari a livello nazionale’, forse esacerbata dalla crisi economica .
4. Il FMI e altri esperti hanno dimostrato che “l‘austerità” ritarda in realtà la ripresa economica. Ma i paesi creditori (Olanda, Germania, ecc.) hanno insistito ancora una volta nel richiederla ai più poveri al vertice europeo dello scorso dicembre. Questa strategia ha già punito ingiustamente Portogallo, Italia, Grecia e Spagna (i cosiddetti “PIGS”) e questo è ‘suicidio colletivo ed irrazionalità’.
5. Il ‘Brexit’ esemplifica il fallimento politico dell’UE e mette in risalto i rischi nascosti dietro le logiche nazionalistiche, vittimistiche ed autoritarie: un’incremento del PIL nel Regno Unito superiore alla media europea non ha potuto impedirlo. Le politiche clientelari e l’integrazione mercantile non hanno rafforzato il sentimento d’appartenenza a uno spazio comune di diritti e di obblighi condivisi a un “demos europeo”.
6. L’affare Puigdemont illustra sia i limiti dell’odierno spazio europeo (in questo caso, riguardo il Mandato d’Arresto Europeo), sia la minaccia posta dal tecno-populismo. Con la loro decisione ‘gremita di errori procedimentali’, i magistrati regionali hanno equiparato una protesta contro una decisione amministrativa degli anni 80 agli attacchi permanenti alla sovranità dello Stato [lo Estatuto catalano], vale a dire, ad un colpo di stato incruento. Distruggere “le fondamenta del mutuo riconoscimento e della cooperazione giudiziaria” è il modo più sicuro per smantellare l’UE.
Come cittadini europei, siamo orgogliosi dei risultati raggiunti insieme, dalla libertà di movimento o dalla moneta unica, fino alle iniziative che dimostrano la volontà effettiva di condividere iniziative, come il Programma Erasmus; e non possiamo permetterci che i nazionalismi ed i populismi ci rubino il sogno di un futuro condiviso più giusto e solidale, e non possiamo nemmeno permetterci che, con il loro egoismo, essi promuovino supremazia e divisione sociale come una soluzione alla crisi economica. Tuttavia il solo modo per far fronte al discorso frazionista dei demagogi consiste nell’offrire ai cittadini europei una narrativa migliore.
Chiediamo dunque una maggiore integrazione politica di tutte le istituzioni comunitarie. La formazione di partiti politici trans-europei, che abbiano programmi comuni di solidarietà fiscale, giustizia sociale e trasferimento di sovranità nazionale all’Europa consoliderebbe il concetto di cittadinanza europea. Abbiamo fiducia che voi saprete ridare una nuova spinta a quest’iniziativa, che fu già posta 25 anni fa conformemente all’eredità politica di Ventotene, Schuman o Monnet, e con i principi di solidarietà e di progresso per tutti che stanno alla base del progetto europeo. Inoltre, l’UE dovrebbe favorire la transizione verso degli “Stati Uniti d’Europa” per i paesi della zona euro che ne abbiano il desiderio.
Non dobbiamo dimenticare che l’integrazione economica non è mai stata il fine bensí il mezzo per la creazione di uno spazio sovrano comune di pace, libertà e solidarietà per i popoli europei e il resto del mondo.
Coordinators and Signatories
Coordinators
Luis Méndiz, sociologist and educator (retired), MA European Studies (Reading), PGCE (Reading), Forum co-ordinator
Ángela Herrero, anthropologist (Barcelona-UAB), Forum co-ordinator
Mikel Arteta, PhD in Political Philosophy (Valencia), Forum co-ordinator
Signatories (in personal capacity, and in alphabetical order)
Dolores Agenjo, ex-teacher, philologist (University of Barcelona)
José María Albert de Paco, journalist, press assistant in the European Parliament
María Dolores Albiac, Emeritus Professor of Spanish Language and Literature at the University of Saragossa
Francisco D Alcobendas, management board AHORA platform
Martín Alonso, writer and teacher (retired), PhD in Political Science (UNED)
Santiago Álvarez, teacher and philosopher, PhD in Philosophy (Seville)
Cayetana Álvarez de Toledo, journalist and historian
Javier Anso, SM, lawyer and political scientist
Rafael Arenas, writer, Professor of International Law at the University of Barcelona-UAB, former president of Sociedad Civil Catalana
Aurelio Arteta, (retired) Professor of Moral & Political Philosophy at the la University of the Basque Country (UPV-EHU)
Omar Astorga, Professor of Philosophy at the Central University of Venezuela
Félix de Azúa, writer, member of the Real Academia Española
Natacha Bacolla, Professor of Political Science at the University of Rosario (Argentina), assistant director of Revista de Ciencias Sociales de la Universidad del Litoral
Michele Bagella, Professor of Monetary Economics and Dean of the Faculty of Economics, University of Rome-Tor Vergata
Susana Beltrán, Professor of International Public Law at the Autonomous University of Barcelona-UAB, former Vice-President of Sociedad Civil Catalana, Member of the Catalan Parliament
Víctor F Bermúdez, high school teacher in the Netherlands
Enrique Bocanegra, cultural manager, MA Centro de Estudios de la Defensa Nacional (CESEDEN)
Josep Ramon Bosch, President of Fundación Joan Boscà
Paolo Buchignani, Associate Professor of Contemporary European History at the University for Foreigners Dante Alighieri, Reggio Calabria
Eduardo Butragueño, former Professor of History of Philosophy at the University of Barcelona
Gabriel Cabello, Professor of History of Art at the University of Granada
Adolfo Calatrava, Professor of International Relations at the University Antonio de Nebrija (Madrid)
Enrique Calvet-Chambon, president of Unidos, Libres, Iguales & Solidarios (ULIS),Member of the European Parliament (MEP)
José Calvo-González, Professor of Philosophy of Law at the University of Málaga
Miguel Candel, Emeritus Professor of History of Philosophy at the University of Barcelona
Mª del Rosario Cañete, lawyer, former Professor of Procedural Law at the University of the Basque Country (UPV-EHU), member of the National Council of dCIDE (Centro Izquierda de España)
Julio Carabaña, Professor of Sociology at the University of Madrid-UCM
Francesc de Carreras, Professor of Constitutional Law at the University of Barcelona-UAB, member of the Real Academia de Ciencias Morales y Políticas
Emilio J Castilla, NTU Professor of Management and Professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
Francisco Castilla, Professor of Philosophy at the University of Alcalá de Henares
Antonio Cazorla, Professor and Chair (Department of History) at Trent University, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada
Asterios Chatziparadeisis, PhD in StatisticsUniversité Pierre et Marie Curie (UPMCParis-6), former civil servant European Commission, General Secretariat of Research & Technology, Greece
Ramiro Cibrián, PhD (Yale), former European Commission Ambassador
Daniela Coli, Professor of History of Political Philosophy at the University of Florence
Joaquim Coll, essayist and historian, former Senior Lecturer at the University of Barcelona, City of Barcelona Award 1998, member of Sociedad Civil Catalana
Roger Corcho, assistant at the European Parliament
Juan Antonio Cordero, Professor at the École Polytechnique de Paris
Pier Virgilio Dastoli, Professor of Politics and European Institutions at the University of Rome, president of the Consiglio Italiano del Movimento Europeo
Francisco Javier Díaz-Revorio, Professor of Constitutional Law at the University of Castilla-La Mancha, Toledo
Antonio Diéguez Lucena, Full Professor of Logic and Philosophy of Science, University of Málaga
José Luis Díez-Ripollés, Professor of Criminal Law and former Director of the Andalusian Institute of Criminology at the University of Malaga
Rafael Dobado, Professor of Economic History and Institutions at the University of Madrid-UCM, Corresponding Member of the Real Academia de la Historia
Pepe Domingo, Social Security Layer, former Parliamentarian for Ciudadanos, former Vice-President of Sociedad Civil Catalana, President of Impulso Ciudadano
Ascensión Elvira, Professor of Constitutional Law at the University Carlos III, Madrid
Arcadi Espada, journalist
Luciano Espinosa, Professor of Philosophy at the University of Salamanca
Lidia Falcón, lawyer and writer, President of the Partido Feminista de España (PFE)
Guillermo Fatás, Emeritus Professor of Ancient History at the University of Saragossa, Corresponding Member of the Real Academia de la Historia, former Director of Heraldo de Aragón
Augusto Fenollar, chemist, member of Sociedad Civil Catalana, member ofAHORA platform
Isabel Fernández-Alonso, Senior Lecturer in Communication at the Autonomous University of Barcelona-UAB, member of the Board of Management at Sociedad Civil Catalana
Pedro Fernández-Herrero, economist, former director of ACP (Alternativa Ciudadana Progresista)
Carlos Ramón Fernández-Liesa, Professor of International Public Law & International Relations and former General Secretary and Vice-Chancellor at the University Carlos III of Madrid, former Director of the Instituto de Estudios Internacionales y Europeos ‘Francisco de Vitoria’
Ignacio Fernández-Sarasola, Associate Professor of Constitutional Law at the University of Oviedo
Javier Fernández-Sebastián, Professor of History of Political Thought at the University of the Basque Country (UPV-EHU)
Natividad Fernández-Sola, Professor of International & European Law and International Relations at the University of Saragossa
Armando Fernández-Steinko, writer, Professor of Political Science and Sociology at the University of Madrid-UCM, member of Sociedad Civil Catalana
Luis Ferruz, writer and economist, Professor at the University of Saragossa
Sergio Fidalgo, writer and journalist, director of El Catalán, co-founder of Concordia Cívica
Maxime Forest, Associate Lecturer and Senior Researcher at the Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris (Sciences Po)
Samuel Freeman, Avalon Professor of the Humanities and Professor of Philosophy and Law at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
Teresa Freixes, Professor of Constitutional Law at the University of Barcelona-UAB, Jean Monnet Professor ad Personam, member of the Royal European Academy of Doctors
Paco Frutos, former General Secretary of the Partido Comunista de España (PCE)
Félix de la Fuente, writer on issues of the EU and former official of the European Parliament
Mª de las Mercedes Fuertes, Professor of Administrative Law at the University of Leon
Manel García, Head of Services at the Catalan Government (Generalitat)
Juan Antonio García-Amado, Professor of Philosophy of Law at the University of Leon
María Paz García-Rubio, Professor of Civil Law at the University of Santiago de Compostela
Maria Amata Garito, President/Rector of UNINETTUNO (International Telematic University), Rome
Maria Gerolemou, Post Doc researcher, Department of Classics and Philosophy, University of Cyprus
Nicholas Green, UK Local Government Officer (retired), Bristol
Alberto Gil-Ibáñez, writer and essayist
Mª Teresa Giménez-Barbat, Member of the European Parliament (MEP)
Maurice Goldring, Professor Emeritus of Irish Studies at the University of Paris-8, Saint-Denis
Pedro Gómez, editor
Carmen González-Enríquez, Professor of Political Science at the UNED, Madrid
Mª José González-Ordovás, Senior Lecturer in the Philosophy of Law at the University of Saragossa
Mauro F Guillén, Anthony L. Davis Director of The Lauder Institute and Dr. Felix Zandman Professor of International Management at The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
Mª Pilar Gutiérrez, Professor of Civil Law at the University of Leon
Peter Harvey, teacher and translator, MA (Cambridge), PGCE (Wales)
Antonio Hermosa, Professor of Philosophy at the University of Seville, director of Araucaria: Revista Iberoamericana de Filosofía, Política y Humanidades
Jesús Hernández-Alonso, Professor of Mathematics at the University of Madrid-UAM
Rafael Hernández-Marín, Professor of Philosophy of Law at the University of Murcia
Alejandro Herrero, former civil servant, European Commission
Liborio L. Hierro, Emeritus Professor of Philosophy of Law at the University of Madrid-UAM
Axel Honneth, Professor of Philosophy at both the University of Frankfurt and Columbia University, director of the Institut für Sozialforschung, Frankfurt
Enrique Iáñez, Senior Lecturer in Microbiology at the University of Granada
Miguel Ángel Idígoras, journalist, London correspondent for Televisión Española
Julio Iglesias de Ussel, Professor of Sociology at the University of Madrid-UCM, member of the Real Academia de Ciencias Morales y Políticas
Victoria Iturralde, Professor of Philosophy of Law at the University of the Basque Country
Karl Jacobi, President and founder of Comvort Network
José Joaquín Jiménez, Senior Lecturer in Jurisprudence at the University of Granada
Fernando Jiménez-Sánchez, Senior Lecturer in Political Science at the University of Murcia
Teresa Jiménez-Becerril, Member of the European Parliament (MEP)
Jukka Kekkonen, Professor of Legal History and Roman Law at the University of Helsinki
Holm-Detlev Köhler, Professor of Sociology at the University of Oviedo
Mattias Kumm, Professor for Global Public Law at the Center for Global Constitutionalism (WZB) Berlin, and Inge Rennert Professor of Law at the NYU School of Law
Pepa Labrador, teacher and philologist (Barcelona-UAB)
Francisco Lapuerta, teacher, PhD in Philosophy (UNED)
Rafa Latorre, journalist
Carmen Leal, teacher and philologist
Amable Liñán, Professor of Fluid Mechanics, Professor emeritus at the Polytechnic University of Madrid-UPM, member of the Real Academia de Ciencias
Carmen López-Alonso, Professor of History of Political Thought at the University of Madrid-UCM
Salvador López-Arnal, Professor of Mathematics at the UNED, columnist at El Viejo Topo
Ana Losada, President, Asamblea por una Escuela Bilingüe de Cataluña (AEB)
Fernando Losada, Academy of Finland Research Fellow at the Law Faculty, University of Helsinki
Barbara Loyer, Director of the Institut Français de Géopolitique University of Paris-8, and member of the editorial board, Hérodote
José Carlos Mainer, Emeritus Professor of Spanish Language and Literature at the University of Saragossa
Gorka Maneiro, Spokesperson, AHORA platform
Araceli Mangas, Professor of International Public Law & International Relations at the University of Madrid-UCM, member of the Real Academia de Ciencias Morales y Políticas
Carlo Marcaccini, Lecturer at Scuola Militare Aeronautica Giulio Douhet
Ramón Marcos, Social Security Lawyer
Enric Martínez-Herrera, Senior Lecturer in Social & Political Science (ANECA), general co-ordinator of UNIDOS y SOCIALISTAS+ por la Democracia
Carlos Martínez-Gorriarán, Professor of Aesthetics and Philosophy at the University of the Basque Country (UPV-EHU), editor of El Asterisco
Pedro Martínez-Ruano, Senior Lecturer in Constitutional Law at the University of Almeria
Javier Maurín, former Spokesperson, Municipal Board Villaverde-Madrid, AHORA platform
Jesús M. de Miguel, MSc (LSE), PhD (Yale), Professor at the University of Barcelona (retired), First ‘Príncipe de Asturias’ Professor at Georgetown University
Josu de Miguel, Professor of Constitutional Law at the University of Barcelona (UAB)
Luis Míguez, Professor of Administrative Law at the University of Santiago de Compostela
Chantal Moll de Alba, Professor of Civil Law at the University of Barcelona, member of the European Society of Construction Law, member of the Catalan Jurists group Llibertats
Santiago Mondéjar, political analyst and essayist
Remedios Morán, Professor of History of Law at the UNED, Madrid
Jerónimo Moreno, CEO and business adviser, ETEA (University of Cordoba)
Miriam Moreno, PhD in Philosophy (Madrid-UCM), former producer for Televisión Española
Javier Moscoso, Research Professor, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
Javier Nart, Member of the European Parliament (MEP)
Claus Offe, Professor Emeritus of Political Sociology at the Hertie School of Governance, Berlin
José Javier Olivas-Osuna, PhD (LSE), Researcher at the Conflict & Civil Society Research Unit of the LSE, member of the editorial team LSE Eurocrisis blog
José A Olmeda, Professor of Political Science and former Dean of the Faculty of Political Sciences and Sociology at the UNED, Madrid
Antonio F Ordóñez, lawyer and local administration officer, Vice Coordinator ASEC/ASIC (Assemblea Social de l’Esquerra de Catalunya / Asamblea Social de la Izquierda de Cataluña)
Félix Ovejero, Professor of Ethics, Economics and Social Science at the University of Barcelona
Maite Pagazaurtundúa, Member of the European Parliament (MEP)
Miguel Peña, Professor of Fine Art at the University of Granada
Fernando Peregrín, writer, PhD in Physics (Madrid-UCM)
Xavier Pericay, writer and philologist, Member of the Balearic Parliament
Nuria Plaza, Professor of Spanish Philology at the US University Study Abroad Programs, member of the Board of Management at Sociedad Civil Catalana, member of the Assembly for a Bilingual School in Catalonia (AEB)
Franco Praussello, Professor of International Economics, Director of the Jean Monnet Centre and the Post-Grad School in Economics & Finance of the EU at the University of Genoa
Evaristo Prieto, Professor of Philosophy of Law at the University of Madrid-UAM
Josu Puelles, vice-President, COVITE (Colectivo de Víctimas del Terrorismo en el País Vasco)
Mª Jesús Pujalte, Professor of Microbiology at the University of Valencia
Hugo Quiroga, Professor of Political Science at the University of Rosario and the University of Litoral (Argentina), director of Revista de Ciencias Sociales de la Universidad del Litoral
Álex Ramos, doctor, Vice-President of Sociedad Civil Catalana
Miguel Revenga, Professor of Constitutional Law and Director of Departamento de Disciplinas Jurídicas Básicas at the University of Cadiz (Jerez)
Antonio Robles, writer, teacher of philosophy, journalist, former Parliamentarian for Ciudadanos, Spokesman for dCIDE (Centro Izquierda de España)
Elvira Roca, writer and historian
Luis Roca, teacher, writer and philosopher, University of Barcelona
Javier Roldán, Professor of International Public Law and International Relations at the University of Granada
Berta Romera, anthropologist (Barcelona-UAB) and teacher
Juan Ruiz-Manero, Professor of Legal Philosophy at the University of Alicante
Alfonso Ruiz-Miguel, Professor of Philosophy of Law at the University of Madrid-UAM
Pasquale Lino Saccà, Jean Monnet Chair ad Personam Erasmus Network “I Mediterranei” South/East Dialogue
Marcos Sánchez, engineer and CEO
Ramón Sánchez-Tabarés, former Professor of Economics at the University of Barcelona
Laura Sancho, Professor of Ancient History at the University of Saragossa
Sergio Sanz, architect, Member of the Catalan Parliament
Julián Sauquillo, Professor of Philosophy of Law at the University of Madrid (UAM)
Fernando Savater, writer, Professor of Philosophy (retired)
Samuel Schmidt, Political Scientist, University of Texas, Austin
Vicente Serrano, columnist
Carlos Silva, English teacher, member of Unión, Progreso y Democracia (UPYD), Deputy President of Impulso Ciudadano, member of the Assembly for a Bilingual School in Catalonia (AEB)
Carlota Solé, Professor emeritus, University of Barcelona (UAB)
Francisco Sosa-Wagner, Professor of Administrative Law at the University of Leon
Mauricio Suárez, Professor of Logic and Philosophy of Science at the University of Madrid-UCM
Javier Tajadura, Professor of Constitutional Law at the University of the Basque Country (UPV-EHU)
Jaime Terceiro, Professor at the University of Madrid-UCM, member of the Real Academia de Ciencias Morales y Políticas, King Juan Carlos Economics Award (2012)
Raffaele Torino, Professor of Comparative Private Law and European Union Law & Policies at the University of Roma-Tre
Gabriel Tortella, writer and researcher, Emeritus Professor in Economic History, King Juan Carlos Economics Award
Santiago Trancón, writer and teacher, founder of dCIDE (Centro Izquierda de España)
Andrés Trapiello, writer, poet, essayist
Cyril Trépier, PhD in Geography, Post-Doc researcher at the Institut Français de Géopolitique, University of Paris-8
Enrique Ujaldón, writer, Professor of Political Philosophy at the University of Murcia, co-founder of the platform Libres e Iguales
Alfonso Valero, Principal Lecturer at the Nottingham Law School (Nottingham Trent University), Deputy Editor of the Nottingham Law Journal, member of the Society of Legal Scholars
Guillermo del Valle, lawyer, Deputy Spokesperson AHORA platform
Mario Vargas Llosa, writer, Nobel Prize in Literature (2010)
Rodrigo Vázquez de Prada, journalist, Director of the weekly digital Crónica Popular
Salvatore Veca, Professor Emeritus of Political Philosophy at the Istituto Universitario di Studi Superiori, Pavia
Reyes de la Vega, Senior Lecturer in Chemistry at the University Pablo de Olavide (Seville)
José Luis Vergara, communication advisor
Mercè Vilarrubias, linguist and writer
Ignacio Villaverde, Professor of Constitutional Law at the University of Oviedo
José A Zorrilla, former Ambassador of Spain to Georgia and the Caucasus States (Tbilisi)
Michael Zürn, Professor of International Relations at the Free University Berlin, Director of the Global Governance Unit and Head at the Center for Global Constitutionalism (WZB)
