constitution

The Debate on the State of the Nation ended at the Catalan Parliament with the approval of several resolutions. After three days of debate, the resolutions were voted on Friday. One of them condemns the way in which the Spanish Constitution amendment was negotiated and passed, as it did not take into account parties that participated in the Constitution drafting and approval, and it also interferes with the financial autonomy of Catalonia. Another motion demands the Catalan Government to present the budget for 2012 before October 10th next.

In addition, he warned about an ongoing re-centralisation process, going against the consensus of 1978, and whose next step “will be the electoral reform”, which “will sentence us [Catalan nationalists] as galley slaves”. The day that King Juan Carlos was ratifying with his signature the amendment to the Spanish Constitution, one of the main law’s six founding fathers criticised the reform. Miquel Roca, who represented the views of the Catalan nationalists in 1978 criticised a reform approved only with the support of the two main parties in Spain, both defending centralist stances.

The Constitutional amendment limiting public deficit in Spain has been only approved with the votes from the PSOE and the PP at the Spanish Parliament. Four parties decided to quit the plenary room at the moment of the voting, whilst the Catalan moderate nationalists and the Basque moderate nationalists stayed but decided not to vote. They complained about the way the Spanish Socialist Party (PSOE) and the People’s Party (PP) have negotiated and agreed on the second constitutional reform without the input of the other parties.

“It means that we are not wanted, we are excluded, we are ignored” stated Artur Mas, President of the Catalan Government and leader of the Centre-Right Catalan Nationalist Coalition (CiU). It was the first time he has spoken on the Constitutional amendment limiting the public deficit that has been agreed on only between the PSOE and the PP. The CiU has protested against reforming the Constitution solely on the basis of the agreement of only two parties. Members of the PP and the PSOE have been trying to convince the CiU to support what both parties had previously agreed, and PM Zapatero (from the PSOE) asked the CiU to show some “moderation”.

Meanwhile, the Catalan Government, run by the Centre-Right Catalan Nationalist Coalition ‘Convergència i Unió’ (CiU), announces its own law on budget stability. The CiU feels excluded from the reform of the Spanish Constitution to limit public deficit, especially as they had been one of the key actors when negotiating and approving the Constitution in 1978. The CiU’s Spokesperson warned that, since “the Constitutional consensus” had been broken by the PP and the PSOE, “a great clash with unforeseeable and undesired consequences will happen” if nothing changes.

The Catalan Socialist Party (PSC) decides not to break the Socialists’ unity and not to force a call for a binding referendum on the constitutional amendment. In addition, the PSC rejects the request of the Centre-Right Catalan Nationalist Coalition (CiU) to include within the Constitution a limitation not only the public deficit but also a limitation on inter-regional fiscal redistribution. Moreover, the CiU stated that it has been excluded from the Constitution’s modification and therefore the Constitutional consensus is now broken.

The governing Spanish Socialist Party (PSOE) and the main opposition party, the People’s Party (PP) agree to amend the Spanish Constitution to limit the deficit from public administrations. Other parties have offered to support the amendment but have not participated in the actual writing of the text. The constitutional amendment will not set a deficit figure, which will be set through a law to be approved before July 2012. The PSOE and the PP have agreed that the deficit should be limited at 0.4%: 0.26% corresponding to the State and 0.14% to the Autonomous Communities. Other parties are insisting on the need for a binding referendum.

Many in Catalonia fear that a constitutional limitation to public deficit and debt may dramatically reduce Catalonia’s already restricted fiscal autonomy, which would not only affect self-governance but also the possibility to pay for investments or public services not guaranteed by the Spanish State. The fear goes beyond Catalan party boundaries regarding the second amendment to the Spanish Constitution, which would be approved through an “urgent procedure”, almost without public and political debate. Catalan senators could force a call for a binding referendum.

Main Catalan forces share the need to control public spending and balance public finances but many fear the proposed measure could be used to trim Catalonia’s self-governance. In this line, the Catalan Government’s spokesperson asked Catalan parties to frontally oppose to any measure limiting fiscal autonomy. However, other Catalan politicians are open to discussion but “want to look at the small print”. Furthermore, the Spanish Parliament also approved the fiscal measures announced last week, by which the State will save around 5,000 million euros this year.

President Montilla disagrees with the sentence but accepts it. However, he states that he is ?infuriated? with the sentence and asks for a citizen demonstration and a reflected political reaction. The Spanish Government flags the sentence as a victory.

The expected sentence on the top Catalan law has finally arrived, via a sentence voted in blocks. The sentence dilutes national symbols, the use of the Catalan language, powers relating to Justice, and guarantees on financial transfers

Spanish Constitutional Court may finally decide this week on the Catalan Statute of Autonomy. More than three years after its approval via referendum, the Catalan supreme law may be cut by a court dominated by conservative and Spanish nationalist judges.