Some 40 MEPs have asked the new president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, to actively involve herself in resolving the political conflict between Catalonia and the Spanish state.

The manifesto was promoted by Diana Riba (ERC), who signed "on behalf of [...] Carles Puigdemont, Oriol Junqueras and Antoni Comín". Most of signatories come from her Greens/EFA group, joined by members of three of the other six parliamentary groups.

The MEPs come from a wide range of member states, including Slovenia, France, the UK, Denmark, Spain, Ireland, Portugal, the Czech Republic, Finland, the Netherlands, Latvia and Germany. They include Geert Albert Bourgeois, former minister-president of Flanders, Alyn Smith, president of the EFA group, Johan Van Overtveldt, former Belgian finance minister, and Milan Brglez, former speaker of the Slovenian National Assembly.

In the letter, sent to Von der Leyen shortly after the Parliament approved her commission, they ask for her new executive to "act as a mediator or support an international mediation that would [...] help both sides to find a political solution in Catalonia that respects the will of the people with the necessary changes in the Spanish legal system."

They also ask them to "ensure that human and fundamental rights are protected in Spain in order not to give a precedent that can be used by non-democratic countries." "This European internal affair should count on a solution led by Europe," they say.

Una quarantena d'eurodiputats hem demanat avui a la nova @ComissioEuropea que s'impliqui de forma activa en la resolució del conflicte polític que existeix entre Catalunya i l'Estat espanyol. La política i el diàleg tenen una nova oportunitat. @vonderleyen, aprofitem-la. pic.twitter.com/Eji0Lt0Ddb — Diana Riba i Giner (@DianaRibaGiner) November 27, 2019

The MEPs also ask the Commission to "take note of the international organizations that have called for the release of prisoners and calls [sic] Spain to comply with international treaties." This would include, for example, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detentions.

The signatories say that "Europe’s leaders should not remain silent on this matter when they do not remain silent on matters concerning other Member States." They argue that if they "cannot defend human rights inside Europe", the Union will "lose its entire raison d'être" and will "have to cease lecturing other countries".