Politics

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.

15% of the MPs oppose the decision, all members of Spanish nationalist parties. The Catalan Socialist Party (PSC) abstains, although one of its veteran MPs backs the citizen consultation. This was the last vote of the Catalan Parliament this term, as early elections have been called, on 25th November, which may turn into a plebiscite on the right to self-determination. The Spanish Government has stated it would immediately block such citizen vote by bringing it to the Constitutional Court, since it has to authorise any referendum in Spain. Furthermore, the day before it stated it will “calmly and firmly” oppose Catalonia’s independence process.

In the Catalan Parliament’s main annual debate, the parties assessed the current situation and the Catalan President’s speech from yesterday. The parties that openly support Catalonia’s independence backed the Catalan President and leader of the Centre-Right Catalan Nationalist Coalition (CiU) but asked to rush proceedings. Those supporting the right to self-determination but not necessarily independence and those directly opposing independence criticised CiU’s policies for fighting the crisis and its focus on the process to create a state. The President of the Catalan Government, Artur Mas, offered a detailed reply to each intervention. However, he also made an announcement: if he is re-elected President, he will organise a referendum on self-rule, even if the Spanish Government bans it.

“In exceptional times, exceptional decisions are needed”, stated the Catalan President, Artur Mas. After the 1.5 million strong independence demonstration on September 11th, the Spanish PM’s refusal to negotiate a fiscal agreement for Catalonia, and days of speculation, Mas called for elections. He announced the decision in the Catalan Parliament’s main annual debate, in which he stated that budget cuts will continue, although “austerity cannot be the only value”. He also accused the Spanish Government of being “disloyal” and imposing stricter deficit targets on the Autonomous Communities. Catalan nationalist parties are celebrating the call for elections for giving the people a say, while the rest accuse Mas of putting his party’s interest first by deviating attention away from the dramatic economic situation.

In the middle of the political storm referring to the relations between Catalonia and Spain, the Spanish Government announced an education reform that recentralises the school curriculum and evaluation system. The Catalan Education Ministry qualified the reform as a “total recentralisation” and a “total attack” against Catalonia’s Statute of Autonomy. In the reform, the Spanish Government would impose 65% of the school curriculum and would run evaluations at the end of school and high school.

The Catalan President states that, “if the Constitution is always interpreted from a centralist point of view”, “Catalonia will have to quietly and democratically reflect on its own future” as “no legal framework can be eternally used to annul the majority, democratic, and peaceful will of a people”. The Catalan President, Artur Mas, and the Spanish Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy, met in Madrid 9 days after the 1.5 million strong demonstration for Catalonia’s independence. Rajoy categorically refused to negotiate a specific fiscal agreement between Catalonia and Spain because he said it does not fit into the Constitution. No one from the Spanish Government addressed the press after the meeting.

As part of the strategy to create state structures and to get a new fiscal agreement between Catalonia and Spain, the Catalan Government and the four Provincial Councils, all run by the Centre-Right Catalan Nationalist Coalition (CiU), have created the embryo of Catalonia’s Treasury. They will merge exiting structures, in terms of facilities, staff and resources, to create a single body to collect all taxes at local and Catalan level at no extra cost. The pillar for the future Catalan Treasury’s formal birth ceremony comes the day before the crucial meeting between Catalonia’s President, Artur Mas, and the Spanish Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy. Rajoy has already said he will not accept a specific fiscal agreement for Catalonia.

In a very unusual movement, Juan Carlos I has issued a short but clear letter one week after the massive demonstration for Catalonia’s independence. The King emphasised the need to remain “united” and asked the people to retake the “values” of the “Democratic Transition”, such as “dialogue” and “the sacrifice of particular interests for the general good”. The Catalan Government does not feel “concerned” by the King’s letter. However, it states that Catalonia “offers solutions” and “does not chase pipe dreams”. Spanish nationalists celebrate the King’s words while PM Mariano Rajoy still remains silent. Catalan and Basque nationalists criticise the King for taking sides and not emphasising values such as “pluralism, diversity, tolerance, and respect for discrepancies”.

The Catalan Socialist Party (PSC) is against independence but supports claims for greater self-government and fiscal autonomy for Catalonia. The PSC’s Secretary General, Pere Navarro, proposes a “preferential bilateral relationship” between Catalonia and the Spanish Government, within an “asymmetrical” federal Spain. However, the Spanish Socialist Party (PSOE), which is formed by federated territorial parties such as the PSC, seems to evade the question, at least for the time being. The PSOE’s Secretary General visited Catalonia for the first time after the 1.5 million strong demonstration for independence and did not mention the word “federalism” a single time.

The Autonomous Communities are responsible for 18.7% of Spain’s global public debt, while they manage around 40% of the country’s public spending. The Spanish Government’s share represents 76.8% of Spain’s global debt, which reached €804.39 billion at the end of June. Spain’s debt is now 75.9% of the GDP. The Catalan Government has a debt of €43.95 billion. The day before, the Spanish Finance Minister announced that the Catalan Government had a 0.59% deficit for the first half of 2012. Furthermore, Catalonia suffers from a structural fiscal deficit due to Spain’s fiscal redistribution scheme, which annually takes away 8.5% of its GDP, a €17 billion annual solidarity contribution.

By the end of the year, Catalonia must meet a 1.5% deficit target. According to the Spanish Finance Minister, Cristóbal Montoro, the Autonomous Community governments are heading “in the right direction” to honour the deficit objective for 2012. The Catalan Government had a 0.38% deficit at the end of July, according to its own sources. This represents a €767 million deficit, while at the end of July 2011 it had a 2.09 billion deficit, which represents a 63% deficit reduction.

At a conference in Madrid, the President of the Catalan Government, Artur Mas, warned Spain about the “great mistake” of downplaying the massive demonstration for independence. No members of the Spanish Government or leaders of the Socialist Party (PSOE) attended the event, which is unusual. In front of a crowded audience with many foreign press, Catalan MPs and businesspeople, Mas explained that Catalonia “has been trying for decades to reform Spain to make it our state”. However, Catalans are now “tired” from “the lack of respect” and the “disloyalty”. “If Spain denies the fact of Catalonia being a nation”, “many issues will not be solved”. Then “it is logical for a people to solve their future “peacefully, democratically and in a strictly European way”.