Yanis Varoufakis on Catalonia: ‘I’m not against separatism’

Yanis Varoufakis, former finance minister of Greece, sees Catalonia’s quest for independence as a fully legitimate one. In an interview in the French magazine Ballast which touched on the issue of national and supranational sovereignty, Varoufakis said that he saw no contradiction between separatism and internationalism. ‘I’m not against independence [of Catalonia]. I believe in the right of self-determination. If you live in Barcelona and feel colonized, internationalism does not mean that you should accept being colonized.’

Varoufakis also stated that the right of self-determination is not inconsistent with the possibility ‘of having a European Union in which the Catalans, Madrileños, Greeks, French and even Brits can be part of the magma that gives rise to a new identity, a European identity, and a new form of sovereignty.’