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As soon as the European Parliament awarded the European Citizen’s Prize 2013 to Plataforma de Afectados por la Hipoteca (PAH), a Spanish anti-evictions group, controversy erupted in Spain, notes El Mundo. MEPs from the Spanish People’s Party (PP), which also runs the Madrid government, expressed "outrage" at the decision and asked the jury to overturn the ruling.
Among the policies supported by the PAH are the escraches, protests which take place outside the homes of Spanish elected officials, which PP MEPs have branded as violent and contrary to the values of the European Parliament.
The shortlisting of the PAH was proposed by Spanish MEPs from the European United Left (GUE/NGL) and European Greens (Greens/EFA) and selected from among 41 others from 21 European countries. The award, launched in 2008, is intended to recognise "the work of individuals or organisations who fight for European values," but to columnist Salvador Sostres, the PAH is far from representing these values –
Those people involved in escraches, who think that this is a revolution, should remember the masses thrown out on to the streets at the start of a period of totalitarianism, and that the worst enemy of freedom is chaos. Giving the prize to [President of the PAH Ada] Colau demonstrates that Europe is morally and ethically dying.
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