Politics

The Spanish Government gave the green light on Friday for the bill for the ‘Law on National Security’, amid criticism from Catalan political parties. The new text foresees the Spanish Government taking control of police corps run by the Autonomous Community executives, such as the Catalan Government’s Mossos d’Esquadra, and the local police run by municipalities. This shift of powers would happen if a State of Emergency was to be declared in a particular area due to a natural disaster or in order “to defend Spain” or its “Constitutional values”. Thus, PM Mariano Rajoy is passing a law that would allow the Spanish Government to take control of the Catalan Police if the independence process was to go too far for Madrid’s liking. Besides this, the new bill also establishes powers in some important areas such as cyber security, maritime safety and financial security, among others.

The Association of Municipalities for Independence (AMI) has requested Catalan mayors to fly Danish flags in municipal buildings as a way of complying with the ban on pro-independence flags during the electoral campaign and as sign of gratitude to this country, which on Tuesday approved a motion in favour of “a democratic and pacific dialogue” between Spain and Catalonia regarding Catalonia self-determination. The initiative comes from Sant Pol de Mar, a coastal town in the Maresme County (about 50 km north of Barcelona). On Thursday, the municipal Painting Museum next to the town hall flew the Danish flag. The AMI has also requested mayors to hang again pro-independence flags this Sunday just after the polling stations close, which will respect the ban from the main Electoral Authority in Spain (Junta Electoral Central) that ordered the removal of all Catalan pro-independence flags from all "public buildings and polling stations" during the electoral campaign and voting period.

The Catalan Government and the regional governments of Sicily and Provence are promoting a manifesto requesting the European Union to meet the challenge of the humanitarian crisis taking place at the Mediterranean Sea. ‘We are all Mediterranean’ aims to strengthen the commitment at regional level to face and solve this crisis, since the EU and the Member State governments “are not up to the challenge”. In addition, the Catalan Government also confirmed the organisation of a summit of Mediterranean regions to be held in July in Barcelona “to work together and see in which way the regions can give a more comprehensive answer” to the drama suffered by so many refugees crossing the sea on fragile boats. In Strasbourg, the Vice President of the Catalan Government, Joana Ortega, invited the President of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz, as well as those of Sicily, Provence-Alps-Cote d’Azur and Western Greece, Rosario Crocetta, Michel Vauzelle and Apostolos Katsifaras, and Lampedusa’s Mayor, Giusi Nicolini, to attend the summit.

The Parliament of Denmark approved on Tuesday a proposal debated a week ago requesting Spain and Catalonia to hold "a peaceful and democratic dialogue" on "the question of Catalonia's independence". The motion was approved in the end with the support of 6 of the 8 parliamentary groups and the abstention of the other two, resulting in 64 votes in favour, 41 abstentions and 0 votes against. There have been rumours suggesting that Spanish Government pressure was the reason why the main opposition party, the Liberal Venstre, abstained despite last week announcing its support. The other group which abstained was the extreme-right Danish People's Party (Dansk Folkeparti). The proposal is the answer the Danish Foreign Affairs Minister, Martin Lidegaard, from the Danish Social Liberal Party, gave to a question filed by an MP from the Red-Green Alliance, Nikolaj Villumsen.

Jordi Sánchez, the new President of the civil society organisation Catalan National Assembly (ANC), which co-organised the massive pro-independence rallies, has ruled out the possibility of unilaterally declaring independence the day after the next Catalan Parliament elections, should a clear majority of pro-independence parties win. These elections are presented by the Catalan Government and by the parties supporting independence as a ‘de facto’ plebiscite on this issue, since it is the only option left to hold a legal self-determination vote after the unilateral veto and no-to-everything attitude of the Spanish Government during the last two-and-a-half years. However, even though Sánchez completely supports such a plebiscite, he stated that a unilateral declaration of independence on the day after “would not be possible” and “it is not the road to take”. “I will not send signals about things I believe will not happen”, added Sánchez, who on Saturday was elected to lead the ANC.

The main Electoral Authority in Spain (Junta Electoral Central) has ordered on Thursday the removal of all Catalan independence flags from all "public buildings and polling stations" in Catalonia during the electoral campaign for the Municipal Elections, which take place on 24 May. The order comes after a request from the main pro-Spanish unity civil society group, Societat Civil Catalana (SCC). According to SCC, there are pro-independence flags located in public spaces in 323 municipalities throughout Catalonia and this "violates political neutrality" during the electoral campaign. 710 of the 947 existing town councils in Catalonia have democratically voted to support independence and join the Municipalities for Independence Association (AMI). Many of them have flown pro-independence flags from town hall balconies or in public spaces.

The Catalan Police force, called Mossos d'Esquadra, filed a complaint to the Audiencia Nacional court denouncing the Spanish Police for warning a group of alleged Islamic terrorists they were being watched by the Mossos. However, the Audiencia Nacional decided to close the case. According to the Mossos, such a warning provoked the group to immediately stop its activities for a few months. However, the alleged terrorists restarted their activities and the Catalan Police was finally able to arrest them on 9 April. On that day, the Spanish Home Affairs Minister, Jorge Fernández Díaz, who is in charge of the Spanish Police, linked Jihadism and Catalan independence. This Thursday, after the accusation against the Spanish law enforcement corps was released, Fernández Díaz looked to discredit the Mossos. Referring to the Catalan Government's support to independence, Fernández Díaz stated that "those who do not have the least sense of state" should not be in charge of fighting terrorism.

7 of the 8 groups sitting in the Parliament of Denmark have supported on Tuesday evening "a peaceful and democratic dialogue between Catalonia and the Spanish Government in Madrid" to solve the current political conflict. For 45 minutes, the Danish Chamber debated Catalonia's right to self-determination, after Nikolaj Villumsen, an MP from the Red-Green Alliance (Enhedslisten) registered a question about this issue addressed to the Foreign Affairs Minister, Martin Lidegaard (from the Danish Social Liberal Party). Villumsen linked Catalonia's case to the peaceful resolution of conflicts within the European Union today through democratic referendums. All the parties sitting in the Parliament, except the extreme-right Danish People's Party (Dansk Folkeparti), supported the Minister's answer, which put Catalonia and Spain at an equal level. The debate was held this Tuesday, but the vote on the motion will take place next week.

The Catalan Government has approved its 'Strategic Plan for the External Action 2015-2018', which foresees the opening of additional delegations abroad. The Spokesperson for the Catalan Executive and Minister for the Presidency, Francesc Homs, who is in charge of External Relations, announced that some of these delegations may be opened in the coming weeks. Homs admitted that the Spanish Government may appeal against the new delegations and the plan, as it did with the delegations in Rome and Vienna, and the External Action Law. The Law was approved last November but was already foreseen in the Catalan Statute of Autonomy from 2006. In addition, Catalonia's own external action was validated by the Spanish Constitutional Court in 2010. With the independence debate on the table, the Spanish Government is insisting on reducing the number of delegations and controlling their activities.

The campaign for the municipal elections in Catalonia, which are to be held on 24May, officially started this Friday in extremely uncertain circumstances after years of economic crisis, budget cuts and corruption scandals. This has seriously damaged the credibility of the main traditional parties, provoking an increase in popularity of alternative groups and a great number of undecided voters. On top of this, there is the political clash regarding Catalonia's potential independence from Spain and the planned early elections for the Catalan Parliament on 27 September, which are expected to become a 'de facto' independence plebiscite. The Municipal Elections come first and they have been presented as a preliminary vote before that in September. Additionally, alternative parties will have to prove whether they are as strong as the polls suggest and are able to be part of local government. In this uncertain scenario, the battle for Barcelona stands out, where polls predict great changes.

Spain is home to around 300,000 registered British nationals, 20,000 of whom reside in Catalonia and retain the right to vote in the forthcoming general elections in the UK on the 7^th of May, according to date from the Spanish Statistics Institute given in 2014. The election this year is especially important as polls suggest that no combination of parties will win a stable majority which could be the end of the road for a strong government. Moreover, the election is more important than usual for British nationals living in Spain as in the rest of Europe as Cameron has promised that a Conservative victory will renegotiate Britain’s relations with the EU and put the result to an in/out referendum on membership by the end of 2017. A British exit from Europe could potentially lead to British nationals abroad facing several difficulties in regards to freedom of movement across Europe. On the other hand, May 7th could also mark the point of no return for the troubled union between England and Scotland, due to a surge in support for the secessionist Scottish National Party (SNP).

The Autonomous Community governments, such as the Catalan Executive, cannot meet the deficit objectives imposed by the Spanish Government because of the current inter-territorial fiscal scheme, according to a report from the Spanish banking giant BBVA. The bank has published two studies on two consecutive days that shed some light on this scheme and its consequences. In the first report, the BBVA states that spending per capita on basic Welfare State services, such as healthcare and education, varies by 60% among the Autonomous Communities. A second report highlights that the Spanish Executive reduced the funds for the Autonomous Community governments in 2014, despite the economic situation and the intake of public revenue improving. On top of this, it refuses to review a fiscal scheme that legally expired 16 months ago and that was designed before the financial crisis.

Ciutadans (C’s), the anti-Catalan nationalism party that could become Spain’s third-largest party according to many polls, stated on Monday that they will do everything in their power to stop the next massive pro-independence demonstration in Barcelona from happening. Since 2012, every 11^th of September (which is Catalonia’s National Day), the main pro-independence civil society associations have organised a massive rally, such as the 400 km-long human chain spanning Catalonia from north to south in 2013 and the V-shaped demonstration occupying more than 11 km of Barcelona’s two main avenues in 2014. More than 1.5 million people participated in each of the demonstrations, which have always been peaceful and cheerful, claiming Catalonia’s right to self-determination. This year, another massive demonstration is planned, which is to occupy all of Meridiana Avenue, symbolically going from the Catalan Parliament to outside the city.

"We have to fight the same evils as the Enlightenment: obscurantism, fanaticism and tyranny", stated Consuelo Madrigal, the Director of Spain's Public Prosecution office – directly appointed by the Spanish Government – when  referring to Catalonia's self-determination process on Thursday in Madrid. Madrigal also added that the Spanish institutions and "the rule of law" have also to fight against the "deviations and errors" of the Catalan self-determination process. However, despite these strong words, she nuanced her statement by stressing something which should be obvious in any democratic country: she "will not prosecute intentions" such as the road map that pro-independence parties have agreed upon. Madrigal also referred to the prosecution launched against the President of the Catalan Government, Artur Mas, for the symbolic consultation vote on independence held on 9 November last.

The Spanish Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy, has not ruled out the possibility of holding the Spanish General Elections – which should normally be held in late November or early December – at the same time as the Catalan Elections, which are to take place on 27 September. The Catalan Elections are to be transformed into a 'de facto' plebiscite on independence and have been called a year early, as the only option left in order to hold a self-determination vote, after Rajoy's total opposition to any such vote and his failing to even talk about it. During the last few weeks, the possibility of Rajoy calling the Spanish Elections early in order to ensure that they coincide with the Catalan vote (with the aim of partially neutralising the plebiscite effect) has been widely discussed. However, Rajoy also said that he would like to hold them "at the end of the year".