european union

Commissioners Reding and Almunia have publicly said that, if there were a unilateral declaration of independence, Catalonia would not be automatically expelled from the EU. However, after being put under pressure by the Spanish Government, Reding sent a private letter stating she shared Madrid’s analysis that a unilateral independence would lead to exclusion from the EU and having to re-apply for accession, which would require a unanimous vote among the 27 Member States. After Madrid’s complaints about previous statements, the EC stated that it would not give its opinion on the issue if the Spanish Government does not explicitly ask for it “on the basis of a precise scenario”. The Catalan Government has noted that there is not a precise scenario as yet. None of the main parties propose a unilateral declaration of independence.

The ALDE and the Greens/EFA consider the statements made by Alejo Vidal-Quadras, Vice-President of the European Parliament and member of the People’s Party (PP), to be “a scandal”. Last week, three Catalan MEPs asked the EP President, Martin Schulz, either to push Vidal-Quadras to apologise or to adopt disciplinary measures against him. Schulz appealed to freedom of expression and said that Catalan voters should judge Vidal-Quadras, elected from a closed party list in a single Spanish constituency. Guy Verhofstadt (ALDE) and Daniel Cohn-Bendit (Greens/EFA) reject Schulz’s cold answer and ask for “a formal debate” on the issue. Now, Vidal-Quadras says he was being “ironical”.

Catalonia and the Autonomous Communities run by the Socialist Party (PSOE) were asking to make the Spanish Government’s deficit targets stricter and to proportionally relax those of the Autonomies. The Spanish Prime Minister Rajoy and the Autonomies run by the PP have opposed this redistribution, which would have transferred part of the flexibility allowed by Brussels to the Autonomies. In fact, when Brussels relaxed Spain’s deficit targets for 2012 and 2013, the Spanish Government did not share this flexibility with the Autonomies, which are responsible for almost 40% of the public spending and the managing of the Welfare State services. On the contrary, it made the Autonomies’ deficit targets stricter for 2013.

Members of the European Parliament from Catalan parties have asked the European Commission “if it would suspend Spain’s rights as a Member State of the European Council in the case that force was used against the decisions of the Catalan Parliament”. They have also asked the President of the European Parliament (EP) “to adopt measures if Vidal-Quadras does not publicly apologise”. The Vice-President of the EP, the Catalan Alejo Vidal-Quadras, famous for his Spanish nationalist stance, said yesterday that the Spanish Government should “suspend Catalonia’s autonomy” and “send a general to lead the Guardia Civil” in order to take control. In the past few days, Spanish nationalists and retired army members have threatened a military intervention if Catalonia insists in its self-determination process.

The Catalan capital hosts the largest and most modern container terminal of the Mediterranean Sea, a true gate for cargo ships, linking Europe with the Middle East, Northern Africa and Asia. BEST, which stands for Barcelona Europe South Terminal, represents a €515 million investment by Hutchison Port Holdings (HPH). This week it has unveiled the first part of the project: 100 hectares to store containers, 1.5 kilometres of docking space for cargo ships, 98 cranes and a provisional international-width railway connection to compete with northern European harbours. However, the Spanish Government has not started the definitive railway connection yet, despite many promises.

FC Barcelona and the European Commission join forces to help millions of Europeans to give up smoking. The campaign aims at helping 28 million people giving up tobacco. “With this joint action, we aim to help football fans all over Europe to retake control over their health and their lives, encouraging them to be as passionate and committed to their own health as they are to good football” explained FC Barcelona’s President, Sandro Rosell.

However, the Commission also clarified Barroso’s words from late August. A Commission Spokesman said hours before the kick off of the independence demonstration that in the case of secession from Spain, Catalonia would no longer be part of the EU. A negotiation process to join the EU would be required. However, other EU sources stated that the hypothetical new state may have the same benefits of a “transitional” member. They also added that the accession process would be “faster and easier”. Catalan citizens have been net contributors to the EU for decades and are currently considered European Citizens, but this is “additional”, according to Barroso.

The first Congress of the different Pirate parties of Europe aims to create a Pirate Party at a European level. The Congress made clear the movement’s recipe to tackle the crisis: freedom of information, more transparency, and greater public participation. Forty representatives from throughout Europe met in Catalonia to discuss the future of the political group.

Until now, the EU was refusing to openly discuss the issue and was stating it was strictly an internal matter to be solved within Spain. The President of the European Commission, José Durao Barroso, admitted that “in the hypothetical case of a secession” of Catalonia “the solution should be found and negotiated within the international legal framework”. In this new scenario, Catalonia would not automatically be a member of the EU but this would be part of the negotiations. Barroso was ambiguous about the future of the European citizenship Catalan citizens currently have and said that “EU citizenship is additional”.

Considering the “exceptional” crisis Spain’s banking system is going through, the Cercle d’Economia, a Catalan economic forum open to businesspeople and academics, recommends “drastic” measures in order to face a “systemic” problem at European level. The Chairman of Cercle d’Economia, former Spanish Minister Josep Piqué, stated that Spain “will not succeed on its own”.

On Europe’s Day, CNA reflects the conference the President of the European Parliament gave in Barcelona last week. The German politician emphasised the importance of the Mediterranean Basin and its great economic potential; the historical moment we are living due to the Arab Revolution; the lack of leadership in Europe and importance of working for a strong European Union in order stay at the forefront of the political scene.

The project, which aims to restore a historic viewing point of the city of Barcelona, was carried out by a group of Catalan architects in 2011. The prize is shared with the project to renovate the banks of the River Ljubljanica, in Ljubljana (Slovenia).

Despite initial fears of violent incidents the European Central Bank’s Governing Council meeting has been held peacefully. 8,000 police officers guarded the event by literally occupying the city. Besides, the ‘indignados’ movement demobilized their forces, and no anti-system protests took place.

The President of the European Central Bank, whose Governing Council met in Barcelona on May 3rd, praised the Spanish Government’s “significant effort” made in a “very short period of time” to approve structural reforms. However, Mario Draghi, asked Spain “to persevere” in the strategy based on austerity and accomplish further reforms. The ECB’s President emphasised Europe’s need to adopt measures strengthening economic growth but without abandoning the principles of austerity. Draghi recommended continuing to reduce public spending in order to control the deficit. As expected, the ECB is maintaining the interest rate at 1%.

The President of the European Parliament is visiting Barcelona; coinciding with the European Central Bank Governing Council meeting that is taking place in the Catalan capital. Schulz asked Member States to be less focused on “budget cuts” and start “working together”, otherwise there is a great risk that the EU might end up “failing”. The German politician praised Catalan culture, and reaffirmed his will to push for Catalan being an official language in the Parliament he chairs. Schulz met with the Catalan President, Artur Mas, as well as with Catalan author Jaume Cabré.