Introduction
Catalan independence is a political movement that has been pushing for its quest since 1922. There have been various developments from that period to the present time. While the Spanish government initially allowed Catalan to have some degree of autonomy, this state was later declared as unconstitutional after new leadership took government. Ever since there has been a tug of war as to whether Catalan should be independent or not. Going by the passed referendums, the people of Catalan are in great support of the independence but the fact that they were rendered illegal by the Spanish government; they have not been able to realize their objectives so far (Barber, 2017). While some parties support the quest for independence, others are opposing it. If the separation of Catalan can eventually happen, there is likely to be several political, economic as well as social issues for the EU.
Background
The Catalan Independence Movement refers to a political movement that has its origin from the Catalan nationalism whose objective is to separate Catalonia from Spain ( Gardner, 2017 ). This movement started in 1922 through the Estat Catala ; a political party founded by Francesc Macia. In 1931. The party together with other parties formed a unifying party; Esquerra Republicana de Catala (ERC). In the same year, Macia proclaimed the Catalan Republic was leading to its autonomy. Later in 1938, this independence was abolished by General Francisco Franco during the Spanish Civil War. When the General died in 1975, Catalan political parties shifted their focus from separation to autonomy. In 2010, the Constitutional Court of Spain declared that some articles in the 2006 Statute of Autonomy, which laid the foundation for the earlier agreements, were unconstitutional. This ruling led to widespread protest which culminated to demands for independence.
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Several municipalities engaged in symbolic referendums in three years starting from 2009-2011 which supported independence. Consequently, it influenced politicians who fuelled another mass protest on 11 September 2012 and named it the National Day of Catalonia. This protest categorically pushed on the Catalan government to expedite on independence ( Gardner, 2017 ). The president, Artur Mas called an immediate general election which massively supported independence. In 2013, the new parliament adopted the Catalan Sovereignty Declaration to the effect that the people of Catalan have the right to decide their political destiny. In November 2014, the government called for a referendum regarding statehood. The referendum was to ask whether the people wanted Catalonia to become a state and whether they wanted the state to be independent.
The Spanish government took the proposed referendum to the Spanish Constitutional Court, but the court ruled that it was unconstitutional ( Gardner, 2017 ). This ruling led the government to transform the document from a binding one to a "consultation" which effectively made it non-binding. The court also banned the non-binding vote. The Catalan self-determination referendum still took place on 9 November 2014 with massive support for independence. Mas called for another election in September 2015 also on separation. Parties in support of separation won a majority of the seats but failed to secure the majority vote by a small margin as they got 47%. During this election, there was a resolution which declared the beginning of the independence process which the new parliament passed ( Gardner, 2017 ).
In 2016, Carles Puigdemont, the new president declared a binding referendum on independence. Accordingly, the Spanish government considered it illegal, but it still saw the light of the day on 1 October 2017. There was a 43% voter turnout as the anti-independence parties pushed for non-participation. There was a 90% support for independence. From these results, the Parliament of Catalonia unilaterally resolved for an independent Republic (Solis, 2003). The lawyers of the Parliament of Catalonia had however considered this vote illegal as it went against the Constitutional Court of Spain. Currently, there are three groups of parties. There are those parties which explicitly advocate for independence, those that are opposed to it, and those that prefer a legal and agreed referendum.
Literature Review
The Spanish province of Catalonia experiences struggles for, as well as against independence which is indicative of the European Union’s current strengths and future weaknesses (Lloyd, 2017). In October 2017, the Catalonia parliament declared independence which was deemed illegal by the Spanish government. According to an opinion poll held during the summer of 2017, 49.4 percent were against breaking away from Spain while 41.1 percent supported the bid. The European Union Commission has always opposed the question of Catalonia independence.
Following the referendum for independence in October 2017, which gained support from a majority of voters, the commission threatened to eliminate Catalan from the Brussels bloc if at all they are going to push on with the independence (Falvey, 2017). Despite the referendum being declared as illegal by the Spanish government, Catalonians have still engaged in extraordinary votes on independence. The declaration of Catalan independence has galvanized independence movements in other European countries indicating that the action is gaining more and more momentum. The move threatens to break not only Spain but the European Union as well. Major European leaders show support for Spain and ignore the independence of Catalonia ( Gardner, 2017 ).
European governments are insecure about the independence of Catalonia, fearing that the separation may lead to a stampede of other European regions pushing for independence, threatening the stability of the EU (Hennessy-Fiske, 2017). Since the admission of Spain to the European Union in 1986, the country has been EU’s the pillar of unity, and Catalonian independence endangers the spirit of European integration. European governments have several reasons why this move threatens them. Firstly, the October 2017 referendum contravened Spain’s 1978 constitution, which demonstrated that the EU is after all not a community of law-abiding states. The Spanish government also used force to disrupt the vote, showing that the EU is not a family of democracies. The other fear about the independence is that issues concerning national borders, self-determination as well as minority rights will emerge, leading to wars in the European continent.
Catalonia will also bring to test the unity of the EU by adding to the many problems facing its democracies (Barber, 2017). More doubts about the union's capacity to solve its problems and ensure a stronger union will prevail in Washington, Beijing as well as Moscow. Catalonia greatly contributes to Spain's growth by accounting for 19 percent of its total GDP. The province's independence will thus have a negative economic impact on the country leading to capital flight, increased risk premium, and a falling stock market. This negative impact will also overflow to the EU. Though Catalonia would still want to be a member of the EU, it requires permission from Spain, which may take a very long time before successful completion.
My Point of View
The independence of Catalan poses a real threat to Spain and the European Union alike. Apart from the negative economic impact, it will also undermine the EU’s spirit of integration and in the eyes of the international community; the union will no longer have much pride. The exit of Catalan from Spain may also lead to a domino effect leaving the EU with very few member states, jeopardizing its existence considering this is happening in the wake of BREXIT. It is in the best interest for Spain as well as the EU that Catalan does not attain independence. The two should thus push for dialogue to address the contentious issues that motivate the region to struggle for separation.
Conclusion
The current Spanish constitution does not favor the independence of Catalan unless the parliament amends it. Again, even if Catalonia becomes independent, just like Kosovo, it may fail to attain international recognition. The independence of Catalonia is a threat to the EU because a significant part of Catalonia’s foreign exports goes to the EU, and once cessation happens, this trade will also stop. Catalonia will no longer be able to trade with the European Union unless it gets permission from Spain to re-enter the union as a new member. This process might take a decade since membership can only push through once all the legal and territorial issues between Catalan and Spain have seen a resolution. The successful independence of Catalan may also lead to the exodus of other regions from their unifying governments, increasing the union’s unity problems.
References
Barber, T. (2017 October 6). The Catalan crisis poses a threat to the European order. Financial Times. Retrieved from https://www.ft.com/content/b31c20f8-a9bb-11e7-ab55-27219df83c97
Falvey, D. (2017 December 22). EU Threatens Catalonia with separatism if they press ahead with independence from Spain. Express. Retrieved from https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/895433/catalan-general-election-latest-independence-spain-eu-referendum-Carles-Puigdemont
Gardner, D. (2017 September 25). The Struggle for Catalonia, by Raphael Minder: An insightful and timely account of the faultiness in Spanish politics. Financial Times . Retrieved from https://www.ft.com/content/9f2477f0-9eec-11e7-8cd4-932067fbf946
Hennessy-Fiske, M. (2017 October 30). Catalonia crisis encourages separatists, but could it fracture Europe? Los Angeles Times. Retrieved from: http://www.latimes.com/world/europe/la-fg-catalonia-europe-20171030-story.html
Lloyd, J. (2017 November 3). Commentary: How the Catalonia vote threatens the EU. Reuters.
Retrieved from: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-lloyd-catalonia-commentary/commentary-how-the-catalonia-vote-threatens-the-eu-idUSKBN1D31U1
Solis, F. L. (2003). Negotiating Spain and Catalonia: Competing narratives of national identity (1 st ed.) . Bristol: Intellect.
