Politics

The 11^th September is Catalonia’s National Day, honouring those who defended Barcelona from the Bourbon troops in a 14-month military siege and who were defeated on the same day of 1714. From that moment on, Catalonia lost its self-government institutions, its own laws and freedoms, and the Catalan language was banned and persecuted. The day consists of numerous ceremonies and celebrations throughout Catalonia, but three main events will gather most of the attention. At 9 am, institutions, political parties and civil society organisations will bring flowers to the Rafael Casanova monument, to pay tribute to the leader of the city’s defence in 1714. At noon, at the Ciutadella Park, the institutional ceremony will take place, with musical performances. Finally, the 400 km human chain ‘Catalan Way towards independence’ will take place from 4 pm to 6 pm.

This Tuesday, ‘The New York Times’ published an opinion article by the President of the Catalan Government, Artur Mas, in which he shed light on the reasons for carrying out a self-determination vote that would ask Catalans if they want to become independent from Spain. “We have been willing to pay more than our fair share to the central government to support poorer regions of Spain, but it has gone too far” Mas stated. “We want to be Spain’s brother, as equal partners” he added. Wednesday is the National Day of Catalonia and independence supporters have organised a human chain that will link 400 kilometres of Catalonia from north to south, building on the 1.5 million strong demonstration from a year ago.

The day before the National Day of Catalonia and the ‘Catalan Way towards independence’ human chain, Spain’s Foreign Affairs Minister, José Manuel García Margallo, stated that the Spanish Government “will never accept an agreed” self-determination referendum with Catalonia. The statement comes a few days after it was revealed that the Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy and the Catalan President Artur Mas have been negotiating to find an agreed way to solve the current situation. He also stated that “any independence process would have to come from a unilateral declaration of independence”, which would have “catastrophic consequences” for Spain and “particularly for Catalonia”. However, Margallo added that a new territorial model and financial scheme should be negotiated to stop “the detachment” from Spain that exists in Catalonia.

The Spanish Government had initially authorised the demonstration in the Valencian Country (also called Valencian Community). However, on Monday, two days before the peaceful event, the Sub-Delegation of the Spanish Executive in the Province of Castelló, decided to ban the human chain in its territory for “security reasons”. The ‘Catalan Way towards independence’ is a peaceful human chain that calls for Catalonia’s independence from Spain, and is inspired by the ‘Baltic Way’. It will cross Catalonia from north to south, a distance of 400 kilometres. In other Catalan-speaking territories, which were many years ago under Catalan rule such as the Valencian Country or the French Catalonia, human chains will also be organised by local organisations.

The President of the Catalan Government, Artur Mas, said on Friday he will do all that is in his power to hold a referendum on independence in 2014. “The referendum will happen. There has been not one step back, nor any slow down in the plans”, he stated. Mas caused political turmoil in Catalonia yesterday when he said he would wait until 2016 to celebrate “plebiscite-style” elections if the Spanish government does not authorise a referendum on independence next year. This Friday, Mas met with the leader of the opposition and his ally on the referendum issue, Oriol Junqueras (ERC), who avoided commenting on the controversy of the 2016 election.

This Thursday, Catalan President, Artur Mas, said he would call a “plebiscite” style election in 2016 if the Spanish government does not allow Catalonia to carry out a referendum on independence next year. In an interview with Catalan radio, Mas rejected calling early elections even if Madrid refuses his proposal for a referendum. Instead, he would ask Catalans to vote in the 2016 election considering which parties are in favour or against independence, thus showing the overall support for the creation of a new Catalan state.

Hundreds of Catalans living all over the world are showing their support for independence by organising replicates of the large scale Catalan way that is being prepared in Catalonia for the 11th of September. More than 800 people participated in the Catalan way in London, while hundreds held hands on the Great Wall of China in one of the most amazing demonstrations this weekend. In New York, independence supporters did a human chain in Central Park and assembled shortly afterwards in Times Square with Catalan flags.

The European Commission has stated that the “the intentional public condoning, denial or gross trivialisation of the Nazi crimes is to be made criminally punishable”. Answering a complaint by Catalan MEPs about the honours received by a brotherhood of soldiers and supporters of the ‘División Azul’, a division of Spanish volunteers that fought in the Nazi army, Brussels warns that next year it will be able to fine member states that do no prosecute “incitement to violence and hate”.

The Catalan Government is drawing out plans to prepare a referendum on independence, especially considering the posibility that the Spanish government may refuse to collaborate with Catalonia in the organisation of the vote. The Catalan Vice President, Joana Ortega, will meet next week with the Unity for Electoral Process to discuss the logistics of the referendum. In an interview on Friday with the Catalan radio, she said the next budget will include a special line for the costs of running the independence vote.

Spanish President, Mariano Rajoy, told the Catalan President, Artur Mas, that he should expect a reply to his request to hold a referendum, after the summer recess. According to the Presidency Minister and Spokesman of the Catalan Government, Francesc Homs, Rajoy informed Mas that he had received his letter during a phone conversation that lasted no more than two minutes. The letter was sent in July in order to express the willingness of the majority of Catalans to carry out a referendum on independence.

The Catalan Presidency Minister and Government Spokesman, Francesc Homs, said in a press conference on Tuesday that the draft of the bill develops the powers granted by the 2006 Statue of Autonomy, while complying with Spanish law and constitutional framework. He added that it is an instrument to strengthen the external activities of the government of a country “that aims to become free” and is the first bill of the government focused on its foreign relations. Homs also said he is confident that, sooner or later, the European Commission will publish its opinion about the legal consequences of independence in Catalonia and Scotland.

Scottish MEP David Martin tried to prepare a report on “the consequences of secession of the territory of a member state for its membership of the European Union”, but the European Parliament president, Martin Schulz, and the leader of the socialist group in the chamber, Hannes Swoboda, both refused. The report would have focused on the impacts of Scotland’s and Catalonia secession on their EU membership. Scotland will hold a referendum on 18th September 2014, and Catalonia, plans to do the same.

This coming 11^th of September – which is Catalonia’s National Day – pro-independence supporters have organised a gigantic human chain called the ‘Catalan Way Towards Independence’ that will cross Catalonia from North to South stretching 400 km and passing through some of the main cities, such as Barcelona, Girona and Tarragona. After having organised the 1.5 million-strong demonstration of 2012, the civil society platform Catalan National Assembly is preparing a new massive demonstration that calls for independence from Spain. This year’s peculiar demonstration is inspired by the ‘Baltic Way’ of 1989, which gathered 2 million people forming a 670 km-long human chain crossing Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The ‘Baltic Way’ was organised exactly 24 years ago and issued a manifesto that read “a common European home can only by set up if all European nations are granted a free right to self-determination”.

Catalonia’s main SME association PIMEC and the Catalan Business Circle (CCN) have criticised the regional Government of Madrid for issuing a report not sufficiently backed-up by economic data. In addition, they have accused Madrid’s Finance Minister, who presented the report, of offering a politically-biased version by saying that companies have left Catalonia due to the self-determination debate. PIMEC and CCN stated they do not have data supporting Madrid’s statement. On the contrary, they have data proving that foreign investment has not reduced. In addition, CCN accused the Spanish Government of building a “Greater Madrid” as an economic centre, at the expense of other areas such as Catalonia. PIMEC emphasised the Catalan industrial tradition and the vigour of its economy, although admitted that taxation is higher in Catalonia than in Madrid.

In the last three years, 1,060 companies have moved their headquarters from Catalonia to the region of Madrid, according to a report published by Madrid’s regional Government. The report states that most of them took the decision because of the lower taxes that exist in Spain’s capital, compared to other areas such as Catalonia. Since 2010, 5,000 companies based in the rest of Spain decided to move to Madrid; 21.4% of them were from Catalonia. Paradoxically, 43 cents out of every euro paid in taxes in Catalonia is to pay for investments and services made in other parts of Spain, which turns into an annual fiscal deficit of 8.5% of Catalonia’s GDP, meaning that Catalans are obliged by the Spanish Government to give away €16.5 billion. Meanwhile, the Catalan Government is under-budgeted and obliged to implement severe budget cuts and raise taxes to balance the budget.