european

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.

The former Chief of Staff of the French Minister for European Affairs and current member of the Conseil d’État, Yves Gounin, argues that the independence of Catalonia, Scotland or Flanders would not cause their immediate expulsion from the European Union but neither would it result in their automatic inclusion. Gounin states that a political negotiation should be undertaken; it would be “the most realistic” approach, he says. Therefore, according to this study published in the journal Politique Étrangère, independence and EU membership should be negotiated at the same time and therefore the implementation of EU Treaties would not be interrupted at any moment. Gounin underlines that there are legal and political arguments to defend that an independent Catalonia or Scotland would not be expelled from the EU. It is in “everybody’s” interest, he highlighted.

The President of the European Commission, José Manuel Durao Barroso, has responded to the letter sent in December by Artur Mas, the President of the Catalan Government. Mas had informed Barroso and the leaders of the EU Member States about Catalonia’s self-determination process and the recent agreement to organise a consultation vote on the 9^th of November. The Commission President “thanked” Mas for his letter and the information about “the latest political developments in Catalonia”. However, he rejected issuing further comments “on a question of internal organisation related to the constitutional arrangements in the Member States”. Furthermore, concerning Catalonia’s EU Membership, Barroso “recalls the position […] expressed on several occasions”.

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.

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.

The Catalan Government’s Advisory Council for the National Transition (CATN), formed of renowned independent experts, emphasised that Catalonia’s independence from Spain would not represent breaking their affective and historical bounds. Furthermore, they insisted on the need to continue and even to increase cooperation “based on a new principle of equality and mutual respect between both parties”. They have suggested different ways to cooperate, through different structures. For instance, they proposed the creation of the ‘Iberian Council’ bringing together Catalonia and Spain, as well as Portugal and Andorra if they wished to, which would mirror the Nordic Council or the Benelux. Furthermore, the CATN issued three other reports, including a detailed analysis of Catalonia’s tax agency.

The civil society organisation Súmate, bringing together Spanish-speaking Catalans who support independence from Spain, presented its local branch in Mataró, a coastal city in Greater Barcelona. On Tuesday evening, half an hour after the event’s kick off, a group of about six Fascists carrying Spanish flags interrupted the presentation and tried to stop it. They shouted insults against participants and carried banners against the association. “You are a submarine” of pro-independence parties and “You are sold to the ‘nazionalist’ tyranny” were some of the slogans. Ironically, these Fascists called the attendees of a democratic debate on Catalan nationalism ‘Nazis’. Spanish nationalism has compared Catalonia’s claims to Nazism on several occasions, while Madrid’s establishment and intellectuals have barely protested. 

Andreu Mas-Colell, Catalan Finance Minister, considered the People’s Party (PP) to be “obstructionist” for blocking the approval of the Catalan Government’s budget for 2014, which was initially scheduled for this week. On Tuesday evening the PP – which runs the Spanish Government – confirmed it was freezing the implementation of the €29.31 billion budget because it included €5 million (0.0176% of the total spending) to fund “electoral processes and citizen consultations”. Mas-Colell warned that by delaying the budget’s implementation, the Catalan Government will lose revenue coming from new taxes and therefore it will have more difficulties meeting the deficit targets for 2014. All the parties in the Catalan Parliament criticised the PP’s initiative except the anti-Catalan nationalism Ciutadans (C’s), which backed the action.

On Monday the People’s Party (PP) announced they were considering freezing the 2014 Catalan Government’s budget of €29.31 billion. The reason is that they include €5 million (0.017% of the total spending) to fund “electoral processes and citizen consultations”, which they fear could fund a self-determination vote. The Catalan Government has the power to organise a consultation process, as well as to modify small items once the budget is approved. The PP was waiting for the Spanish Finance Minister’s green light, since blocking the budget’s approval could have consequences on the objective to reduce public deficit and on meeting the targets imposed by the EU. Cristóbal Montoro argued that, since the blocking would “only last some 30 days”, there is no such danger.

The President of the Catalan Government, Artur Mas, stated that he wants to meet with the Spanish Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy, in order to convince him “to allow or tolerate” Catalonia’s self-determination vote. In the yearly live interview at the Catalan Public Television Broadcaster (TV3), Mas challenged Rajoy to make “an attractive offer” to the Catalan people, instead of “saying ‘no’ to everything”. Mas proposed that Catalan citizens vote on the Spanish authorities’ offer and on the independence option. Furthermore, the Catalan President insisted he is willing to change the question wording and dateof the self-determination vote if the Spanish Government agrees on a formulation similar to the Scottish referendum.

The People’s Party (PP) – which runs the Spanish Government – has announced it is looking at the possibility of freezing the approval of the Catalan Executive’s own budget. They are considering blocking the €29.31 billion budget because it will allocate €5 million (0.017% of the total spending) to a “citizen consultation”. The approval of such a budget is essential to meet the 1% deficit target for 2014. However, the PP fears this money could be used to organise the self-determination vote in 2014. The PP’s leader in Catalonia, Alícia Sánchez-Camacho, has announced she was talking with the Spanish Finance Minister, Cristóbal Montoro, on blocking the budget’s approval. The CiU, running the Catalan Government, has stated it is “a mistake”.

1 million passengers are expected to use the new direct High-Speed Train between Barcelona and Paris within a year. The Spanish Transport Minister Ana Pastor, her French counterpart Fréderic Cuvillier and the Catalan Minister for Planning and Sustainability Santi Vila, have described the High-Speed connection as a “milestone” that will further develop the bond between states and develop their economy. The very first direct train from Barcelona to Paris circulated last Sunday, connecting seventeen cities between the two states. Both Catalan and French ministers have stated they had taken measures to accelerate the construction of the Perpignan-Montpellier section, where trains are still circulating at a regular speed, making journeys significantly longer.

The referendum in Catalonia was on everyone’s mind at this Friday’s European Commission press conference in Brussels. 20 minutes of the conference were devoted entirely to the Catalan issue. The EC Spokesperson Pia Ahrenkilde confirmed that Catalonia’s self-determination vote remained “an internal matter for Spain”. Ahrenkilde did not wish to stray away from the official EU stand on the issue, despite the persistence of Catalan, Spanish and foreign journalists. Viviane Reding, the European Commissioner for Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship, also addressed the Catalan referendum issue this Friday. She explained that even though “it is true […] that the Spanish Constitution does not allow one region to break out”, she “hoped common sense imposes itself in Spain, in order to solve that problem”.

“I want to tell you with all clarity that this consultation will not take place”, emphasised the Spanish Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy. “It goes radically against the Constitution and the law” and “it frontally clashes against the indissoluble unity of Spain”, he insisted. The “unity of Spain and the sovereignty belonging to the Spanish people as a whole are not debatable and are out of any negotiation”, he added. Therefore, the Spanish Government, run by People’s Party (PP), completely rejects authorising a self-determination vote in Catalonia, whose exact question and date had been agreed on this Thursday amongst a majority of Catalan parties. The parties had decided to hold the vote on November 9, 2014 in order for the Spanish institutions to have time to negotiate the procedures. Meanwhile, the main civil society organisations pushing for Catalonia’s independence announced they were accepting the question.