President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker on Friday ruled out European Union (EU) mediation between Spain and Catalonia in the independence crisis.
“If Catalonia secedes, others will follow suit. I wouldn’t want that,’’ Juncker said at a conference with students of the University of Luxembourg.
The politician insisted that the matter was an “internal affair” for Spain and emphasised that only one party in the conflict, the Catalan government, had called for international mediation.
“I don’t want a European Union that’s made up of 98 countries 15 years down the line,’’ Juncker stressed.