Open Letter to EC President Jean-Claude Juncker
From: John Palmer, #Pompeu_Fabra_University
To: Jean-Claude Juncker, President, European Commission
Date: 25 September 2017
Dear President Juncker:
I write to alert you to recent actions by the Spanish Government that affect research funds provided by the European Commission and infringe on fundamental rights guaranteed under international and European law. My interest in this matter stems from my current position as a Marie Skłodowska-Curie research fellow at Pompeu Fabra University (UPF) in Barcelona and, more importantly, as a person who cares about the rights of others and is horrified by the attack on democracy and liberty that is currently underway in the city and region in which I reside.
On 20 September the Spanish Ministry of the Treasury and Public Function issued Order HFP/886/2017, freezing the finances of numerous public bodies in Catalonia, including those of Catalan public universities like UPF (see BOE-A-2017-10741). It appears from the Treasury’s order and from the regulatory structure on which it draws that it encompasses funds provided by the European Union (see Order PRE/2454/2015 of 20 November 2015, BOE-A-2015-12575). This fact was highlighted in a public statement issued by affected universities on 21 September, demanding that “Spanish authorities desist immediately from these unusual and unacceptable measures” (statement at ▻http://goo.gl/gSiQvG). Universities will be able to gain access to their frozen funds only based on regular certification that they are not being used for activities contrary to the law or to the “decisions of the courts” (Order HFP/878/2017 of 15 September 2017, BOE-A-2017-10609), this latter reference clearly aimed at the upcoming independence referendum called for in a law passed by the Catalan Parliament but subsequently suspended by the Spanish Constitutional Court.
Although it seems unlikely that university funds are being used for unlawful activities, this regular certification process imposes an absurd hurdle for research activities and significantly undermines academic freedom. This is particularly true in light of the harsh crackdown by Spanish authorities against activities even loosely connected to the independence referendum, with detentions and/or prosecutions not only of mayors and senior officials in the Catalan government, but even of private citizens who have helped to disseminate information about the referendum, and of the organizers of peaceful demonstrations against the crackdown. Given this backdrop, it is hard to imagine that the certification process for research funds will not place enormous pressure on academics to avoid criticizing the government or taking any position that might be seen as supporting the referendum, including simply speaking out in favor of the right to vote, freedom of expression and assembly, or self-determination.
Although the funding issue is what affects me most directly as a Marie Skłodowska-Curie research fellow, my greatest concern is with the attack on democracy and human rights that the Spanish state is carrying out against my family, friends, colleagues, and neighbors throughout Catalonia. The prosecutions noted above have been accompanied by raids and detentions by Spain’s paramilitary police force, which has now sent thousands of troops with riot gear to the region. The government has threatened to arrest more members of the Catalan government, to shut down the press, and even to detain school principals. The charges being sought include sedition, which is punishable by many years in jail. These actions amount to serious violations of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, the European Union Charter of Fundamental Rights, and other European and international instruments.
One of the core virtues of the European Union is its ability to prevent this type of repression from occurring. Although there is a temptation to view the events here as internal matters of the Spanish state, the reality is that they directly threaten the European Union’s ideals and they add to the creeping spread of authoritarianism that we are witnessing around the world. I urge you to take whatever steps you can to stop the Spanish government from continuing on this course.
Sincerely yours,
John Palmer
▻https://johnpalmer.github.io/2017-09-25
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