foreign affairs

The Spanish Government has written a 210-pages document to brief its staff and diplomats abroad on the arguments opposing the Catalan Government’s plans to hold a referendum on independence in 2014. The document argues that “it is inappropriate to talk about a democratic principle” when discussing the possibility of Catalan independence. The text, seen by Spanish newspaper ‘El País’, claims that independence would certainly imply an “economical decline” and would put to an end the “Catalan European vocation”. Sources from the Spanish ministry of Foreign Affairs have confirmed to the CNA the existence of such a document but explained that it is for “internal use” only. According to the sources, it is “usual” to send reports dealing with such “specific issues”.

The Catalan Government approves a support program that will advise the promotion and development of activities from the Union for the Mediterranean Secretariat, whose headquarters are in Barcelona. It will provide advice on Euro-Mediterranean policy and projects, until the UfM has enough resources of its own.