EU – Baltic States, Financial Services, Latvia, Legislation

Catalan website El Mon said at the same time that the European Commission had dismissed the bribery allegations as completely groundless.

Inerviu refers to Dombrovskis' remarks made in 2013 when he was still Latvian prime minister. Asked by Catalonia's government news service Agencia Catalana de Noticies (ACN) whether Latvia would recognize Catalonia's independence, Dombrovskis said he could "theoretically recognize Catalonia's independence, if the process is legitimate".

Citing sources close to the Latvian politician, the magazine claims that a deal had been made about this remark and a reward for making it.

After months of investigative work, the intelligence unit of the Spanish police has come to a conclusion that they have sufficient evidence to believe that the price for making that remark had been EUR 6 million, although Dombrovskis could have demanded as much as EUR 10 million for the favor. Dombrovskis' adviser Sandra Bukane allegedly took care of the deal's technical details.

El Mon quoted the European Commission as saying that "we have no comments to make about these accusations which are completely groundless".

ACN reported in September 2013 that Latvian Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis (Unity) had expressed indirect support for Catalonia's independence aspirations.

According to ACN, Dombrovskis said that if there is a clear will among people and a clear demand for a referendum, it is necessary to pay attention and seek options for addressing it.

The prime minister also pointed out that there cannot be any objections to Catalonia's independence efforts, if it is a legitimate process, the news agency reported.

Dombrovskis' press secretary Martins Panke informed LETA that the prime minister was very cautious regarding Catalonia's independence efforts in his interview with ACN, but that the Catalan news agency put a different spin on his statements.