Threat over EU status hurts Catalan independence push

With less than three weeks to go until the Catalan elections, the ground has shifted from the dream of independence from Spain to the possibility of isolation within Europe.

A strong indication from Brussels that, if Catalonia were to secede, it would have to leave both the European Union and the euro has dulled the allure of independence for the region.

Meanwhile, the wheels seem to be coming off president Artur Mas’s campaign to turn nationalist sentiment into an overall majority for his Convergència i Unió (CiU) party as polls continue to predict he will fall short of the mark on 25 November.

It hasn’t helped that Josep Antoni Duran Lleida, leader of the Unió half of the CiU, said in a radio interview that he doesn’t believe the majority of Catalans want independence.

“I can’t imagine Spain without Catalonia,” he said. “It would be bad for Spain to be without Catalonia and bad for Catalonia to be without Spain.”

He went on to say that it would be irresponsible not to address the uncertainties concerning Europe, because the law as it stands means it would be very difficult to join the EU.

Responding to criticism over his comments, he replied: “You shouldn’t shoot the messenger.”

This was followed by a manifesto issued last weekend, signed by 300 Catalan and Spanish intellectuals, artists, architects and lawyers calling for a new deal within a federal Spain as an alternative to independence.

The manifesto – signed by, among others, the film-maker Pedro Almodóvar, writer Mario Vargas Llosa, and the Catalan designer Javier Mariscal – asserts that “Catalonia is not being plundered by another part of Spain and nor do the majority of Spaniards disdain the Catalans”.

The signatories also assert that the pro-independence movement proposes “violating the democracy that was agreed by all and for all”.

The document adds that it is up to the rest of Spain to respect Catalan aspirations, should they vote for independence.

Mr Mas took heart from this last part, saying: “This manifesto reiterates what we have been saying: that the Catalan people wish to be consulted about creating their own state.”

He also repeated an appeal to the voters to give him an absolute majority, saying: “We need an exceptional majority. We need Madrid, Brussels and Washington to see that Catalonia has strong leadership to take this process forward.”

However, whatever happens on polling day, Brussels has already spoken. Yesterday, Joaquín Almunia, vice-president of the European Commission, said “if a state separates itself, that part will be outside” and will have to start the process of adhesion from zero. He added that there are “2,000 ways that this could be vetoed”.

He added that the EU works on the principle of unanimity and, “just as in any other club”, decisions have to be backed by the members. He added: “It’s enough for one to say, ‘No’ for the process to be halted.”

Catalonia would also cease to be one of the full 17 member states of the eurozone. It would be reduced to the status of San Marino or the Vatican, which use the euro but have no say in the bodies that manage it, such as the European Central Bank.

“The currency belongs to the European Union, not to Spain or Catalonia,” an unnamed Brussels official was quoted in the Spanish media as saying.