Large German media outlets like Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ), the country's second-largest newspaper, and n-tv, one of the country's largest news channels, have put on the pressure after the release of president Carles Puigdemont for the German government or the EU to intervene in the conflict between Catalonia and the Spanish state. Yesterday's decision by a German court has, in the eyes of the Germans, buried the Spanish argument that the issue of Catalonia is only an internal matter. The country is clear that neither the Spanish government nor courts can sort it by themselves.
In an article entitled Enough rest (in German), FAZ's political correspondent Timo Steppat has said that German politicians have to take the bull by the horns, and stop hiding behind the justice system. "The game of hide-and-seek is over," he writes.
According to FAZ, the decision by Schleswig-Holstein's Higher Regional Court implies two things: "German politics will have to react and the conflict between Madrid and Catalonia has got new fuel". "The justice system has spoken, now German politics has to react to the case," the paper wrote in their tweet sharing the article.
Die Justiz hat gesprochen, nun muss die deutsche Politik auf den Fall #Puigdemont reagieren. Außerdem: Seehofer bei seinem wichtigsten Bundesamt. #FAZSprinter https://t.co/1EmiAo7Kob
— FAZ_NET komplett (@FAZ_NET) 6 d’abril de 2018
News television channel n-tv has directly called for the EU to intervene in the conflict, as they believe the court's decision "sends signals to Brussels". "The conflict in Catalonia is European. It should be solved as such," they write.
According to their columnist the court has sent clear messages: "first, for Madrid: we're not assistant to realise the hard line of your central government and the royal family, supported by your judiciary. Second, to the EU: the conflict in Catalonia cannot be solved with legal force alone. Even if Madrid will only very unwillingly say it: it's time for Brussels to step in."
They believe there are only three solutions -more repression, more autonomy or independence- and calls again for the EU to intervene: "the EU can now show it's indispensable for peace in Europe. And the higher regional court's decision should be the impulse."
