Flemish Nationalists face Catalan infependence

Flemish nationalists face Catalan independence dilemma Government under threat if N-VA pushes to recognize an independent Catalonia. Flemish separatists could bring down the Belgian government in order to pledge support for an independent Catalonia, according to media reports Tuesday. At a meeting of European pro-independence movements in December, Jan Jambon, Belgium’s interior minister and deputy prime minister, was asked if he was prepared to let the government fall on the issue of recognizing Catalan independence. His answer was “we cannot risk losing our credibility.” Jambon is a senior member of the Flemish nationalist N-VA, the largest party in Belgian politics. His comments were picked up by a fringe left-leaning separatist magazine in December, but only hit the mainstream Belgian press Tuesday. The minister told De Morgen newspaper Tuesday that “in case [Catalan independence] happens, this will be a difficult question for us.” The N-VA’s vice president, MEP Sander Loones, told De Morgen that “it’s a key principle for us that peoples have the democratic right to define their own fate, also within the EU.” The N-VA has longstanding ties with the Catalan independence movement and has publicly backed the separatists, who won an election in September. If Catalonia’s new president, Carles Puigdemont, delivers on his promise to achieve independence within 18 months, the Belgian federal government will have to decide if it recognizes the new country.