catalan government

The Catalan Government accuses Madrid of continued “prejudices” since “appealing against” a measure “the very next minute” after it is announced “does not leave time to fully analyse it” and therefore “does not respect the rule of law”. A majority of Catalan parties is proposing a self-determination vote for the 9^th of November in accordance with the legal framework. There are 5 different ways to legally organise such a vote according to Constitutional experts. However, the Spanish Government is insisting that such a vote is illegal. The Spanish Justice Minister, Alberto Ruiz Gallardón stated on Tuesday: “if Mas [the Catalan President] signs a decree calling the consultation vote instead of [only] resigning himself to giving a statement, the very next minute, this decree will be taken to the Constitutional Court”. Furthermore, he added that “there is no doubt” that the vote “will be suspended” by the Court.

The People’s Party (PP), which runs the Spanish Government and holds an absolute majority in the Parliament and Senate, closed the door on launching a broad debate on Spain’s territorial organisation and on reforming the Constitution accordingly. The objective of this reform would be to keep Catalonia within Spain by answering some of the Catalan claims and working towards an improved relationship. “We are not willing to open debates that divide the Spaniards”, stated Alfonso Alonso, the PP Spokesperson at the Spanish Parliament. The Secretary General of the Spanish Socialist Party (PSOE), Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba, had sent a letter to the President of the Spanish Parliament, asking him to create “a body” to debate on a broad territorial reform.

The Catalan Government Spokesperson, Francesc Homs, has ironically stated that the situation in Catalonia “must be the most international of political domestic issues in the wide world”, if the Spanish PM Mariano Rajoy is talking about it before the US President. Homs exclaimed: “every time, people say it is an internal issue and that it would be a mistake to treat it internationally, but Rajoy cannot stop talking about it in his public appearances”. Homs praised the international community for their silence on the Catalan issue, as they have likely been “pressured” by Spain to voice their disapproval. However, he did not directly refer to Barack Obama, who had avoided commenting on Catalonia’s potential independence at the White House press conference on Monday evening.

The Catalan National Assembly (ANC), the grassroots organisation that organised the two massive demonstrations for Catalonia’s independence in 2012 and 2013, is working on another initiative to allow Catalan citizens to hold a self-determination vote. This past weekend it installed 700 stands throughout Catalonia with 3,000 attorneys-in-fact to collect signatures for an independence referendum and, if this is deemed impossible, the unilateral declaration of independence, in accordance with international law. The ‘Sign a Vote for Independence’ initiative started last June and will continue during the upcoming months, but on Saturday and Sunday, a special push was given to boost the process. The ANC said the massive signature collecting had been “a success”. Figures will be provided next week although the campaign is still ongoing.

Artur Mas, President of the Catalan Government, signed an article published in New Europe’s special edition ‘Our world in 2014’, explaining why Catalans want to hold a self-determination vote on the 9^th of November, 2014. The European section of the publication includes articles from the French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, the Italian PM Enrico Letta, the UK Finance Minister George Osborne and two EU Commissioners, Neelie Kroes and Androulla Vassilliou, among others. In his article, Mas asked the Spanish Government to “abide by its professed democratic principles and to allow the referendum”. The Catalan President explained why a majority of Catalans are supporting independence from Spain due to historical, political, economic, cultural and identity-related reasons. “In twenty-first century Europe, we solve these disputes peacefully and democratically, with ballot boxes and votes” he stated.

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s refusal to negotiate and allow the Catalans a consultation vote on independence “undermines the legitimacy of the Spanish political system” and is a violation of Catalonia’s democratic “right to express its own voice”. Such is the conclusion of Huw Evans, Law Professor at the Cardiff Metropolitan University. In a report entitled Law and Legitimacy: The denial of the Catalan voice, published by the Brussels think tank Centre Maurits Coppieters, Evans argues that Rajoy could authorise a referendum without breaching the Constitution. He states that Madrid’s current attitude “restricts (and, also […] denies) the right of the Catalan people to democratically pursue” independence.

Antoni Abad, the Chairman of the Terrassa-based employer’s association Cecot, forecasts “a small growth” of Catalonia’s GDP in 2014. However, Abad also warned against “the fragility” of the current situation since economic recovery is just starting and indicators are posting positive data but still with manifold limitations. When asked about the possible consequences of the political situation in Spain, Abad insisted the Cecot members “are not afraid” of the self-determination consultation vote. He reminded Spain that consultations are “structural elements” of democratic life, adding he was hoping for “rationality” and “dialogue” to impose themselves in the political sphere. Abad also denied the words of the Spanish Minister for Home Affairs, Jorge Fernandez Diaz, stating that the independence issue had not created any “conflicts” in Catalan families.

The Catalan Government has welcomed the 138 proposals issued by a council of business associations, trade unions, academic experts and leading professionals, who form the so-called ‘Agreement for the Industry’ platform. The President of the Catalan Executive, Artur Mas, stated that those proposals are “a possible seed” for a broader agreement: a National Pact for the Industry that will define the priorities and main guidelines of Catalonia’s industrial policy for the next decade. The Catalan Minister for Business and Employment said that the 138 proposals coincide with “between 70 and 80%” of the Executive’s industrial policies. However he pointed out that the Government couldn’t bring all of them on board for budget or jurisdiction limitations.

The Catalan Government will file several formal demands for payment of the €2.02 billion the Spanish Government legally owes Catalonia from the 2008-2013 period. The money represents 1% of Catalonia’s GDP or 7% of the Catalan Government’s budget. According to the Statute of Autonomy, which was approved by the Spanish Parliament and came into force in 2006, the Spanish Government was obliged to invest a percentage equal to or higher than Catalonia’s share of Spain’s GDP between 2007 and 2013 in order to compensate for an historical lack of infrastructure investment. If it was not doing so, the Spanish Executive had to compensate Catalonia financially. The measure was adopted after exhaustive negotiations and was essential to the approval of this law by the Catalan people through a binding referendum. However, the Spanish Government never honoured it. Madrid compensated Catalonia for the lack of investment in 2007, but not for the remaining years.

The President of the Catalan Government, Artur Mas, insisted this Tuesday he will organise a self-determination vote within the legal framework on the date agreed upon by four political groups 3 weeks ago. In a press conference following the first Cabinet Meeting of 2014, Mas ruled out the possibility of making changes in the government he chairs on the short-term, after speculations that the Catalan Left-Wing Independence Party (ERC) could sit in the Cabinet, formed by members from the Centre-Right Catalan Nationalist Coalition (CiU) and independents. In addition, he identified “a cross slope” in the economic, social and political context, referring to a slight recovery, after 6 “terrible and fearsome years”.

The Catalan President has sent a letter to the international leaders, detailing the agreement to hold a referendum in Catalonia, and urging them to encourage this “peaceful, democratic, transparent and democratic process”. In the letter, Mas explains that he is seeking to reach an agreement with the Spanish Government so the consultation can take place. He also states that there are five “legal and constitutional options” to authorize it.

“There is only one reform of the Constitution and it the one we have already agreed on”, stated the Secretary General of the Spanish Socialist Party (PSOE), Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba, in response to the Catalan Socialists’ proposal to approve a “singular redefinition” of Catalonia’s “fitting” within Spain. Rubalcaba said that the Catalan Socialist Party (PSC) – which is member of the PSOE – had not sent him any proposal on this issue. “They should explain it to me. I do not know anything about it”, he said when he was asked about the PSC’s proposal. In an exclusive interview with the CNA, the PSC’s Spokesperson at the Catalan Parliament, Maurici Lucena, explained that a temporary measure should be adopted urgently to better fit Catalonia within Spain while waiting for a global reform of the Spanish Constitution, a lengthy process that can take years.

In an interview with the Italian newspaper La Repubblica, the President of the Catalan Government, Artur Mas, emphasised that an independent Catalonia would “want to remain” within the European Union. Mas highlighted the need to reach “a transition agreement” to ensure the uninterrupted continuity of an independent Catalonia within “the Eurozone, the EU, the Schengen Area and the NATO”. In addition, Mas insisted that, if the Spanish Government bans the self-determination referendum, he will have to call plebiscitary elections to give Catalans the opportunity to vote on their future. Besides, Mas announced he “will quit politics soon”; “at most” he will be in office for just “another term” to “push forward” Catalonia’s self-determination process.

Catalonia has confirmed its fourth place in the Autonomous Community rankings of GDP per capita, according to figures released by the Spanish Institute of Statistics (INE). This data from 2012 reveals that the Basque Country is still the leading area in Spain, followed by the region of Madrid and Navarre. The figures indicate that the GDP per capita of Catalonia amounted to €26,412 in 2012, meaning 0.7 % less than in 2011. In 2012, the wealth generated by the Catalans totalled €192,535 million, 18.7 % of the Spanish GDP, above the 2011 figures when Catalonia contributed to 18.6 % of the Spanish economy.

The Catalan Socialist Party (PSC) proposes a “singular redefinition” of Catalonia’s “fitting” within Spain that should be accomplished urgently while waiting for a global reform of the Spanish Constitution. Maurici Lucena, the PSC Spokesperson at the Catalan Parliament, told the CNA that this temporary measure should avoid “the collision” between the two sides. The measure should “shield” Catalonia’s powers, language and culture from recentralisation and homogenisation attempts, and it would also include a fairer fiscal scheme. In the coming weeks, the PSC will try to convince the PSOE – to which is federated – about it. This proposal is quite similar to the Catalan Statute of Autonomy that was approved in 2006, but trimmed in 2010 by the Constitutional Court following an appeal from the People’s Party (PP) – which now runs the Spanish Government.