The debate was part of a series of conferences about
self-determination organised by the Public Diplomacy Council of
Catalonia in collaboration with renowned universities all over Europe.
The Diplocat is a soft diplomacy organisation backed by the Catalan
Government, the four Provincial Councils, universities, chambers of
commerce, the main business-owner associations, trade unions, FC
Barcelona and other public and private institutions from Catalonia.
After the success of the first conference at Sciences Po in Paris in
June 2013, the Diplocat organised further conferences in London,
Seville, Uppsala, Toulouse, Lisbon, Utrecht, Santiago de Compostela and
Oslo.
Geneva's conference was opened by Nicolas Levrat together with Albert
Royo, Secretary General of the Public Diplomacy Council of Catalonia.
Royo thanked the University of Geneva for hosting the conference and
stressed that “recent opinion polls show 55% of Catalonia’s citizens
would vote in favour of independence and 25% against”. However, he added
that it is more important to note that “80% want to express their
opinion by casting a ballot, a lot more than those who want
independence”. He continued by asking “how is it possible that the
Spanish Parliament does not take into account the will of 1.4 million
signatures, or the fact that 80% of Catalans request to hold a
referendum?” According to Royo, “what is at stake here is nothing less
than democracy, the quality of democracy”.
The first speech at the debate was made by Catalan Minister and
Government Spokesperson Francesc Homs, who asserted that Catalonia is
facing one of the most defining moments in its history on 9 November
2014. This is the date on which a self-determination referendum will be
called after an agreement by a majority of the parties seating in the
Catalan Parliament, which follows the mandate of the 2012 elections. In
those elections, parties supporting self-determination obtained 80% of
the parliamentary seats. The first and second most voted parties ran in
the election promising to organise such a vote in the current term. Homs
also commented on the political events in recent years and the causes
of the mentality change among the Catalan population: “Catalonia always
tried to adjust to the framework of the Spanish State and in 2006 polls
showed that only 14% of Catalans wanted independence. Today it has risen
to 45% and it has become a mainstream feeling. The no-to-everything
attitude of the Spanish Government causes deception and it is
understandable that every nation seeks a friendly State” that takes care
of its legitimate interests.
Catalonia's self-determination vote is peaceful and follows an electoral mandate
Francesc Homs recalled that the result of the last election in
Catalonia, with 107 out of 135 elected MPs in favour of the referendum,
gives a clear mandate to the Catalan Government to call a consultation
vote. The result of the recent European elections also points in this
direction. This consultation vote, Homs stressed, would be peaceful and
democratic: “There are many territorial conflicts around the world but
very few are as constructive and peaceful as the Catalan one”. Homs took
the example of the United Kingdom and the normality of the Scottish
referendum as a contrast to the lack of dialogue and political will of
the Spanish Government. The Catalan Minister finished with an optimistic
message and showed his conviction that an independent Catalonia will
have a much better and efficient relationship with Spain than the
current one.
Catalonia's "right of self-determination is perfectly compatible with the Constitution"
Mercè Barceló, Chair of Constitutional Law at the UAB, then took over
the debate, analysing the right of self-determination in the context of
the current Spanish constitutional system. She highlighted that “any
political or social project is compatible with the Spanish Constitution
–even those that contradict the very Constitution- as long as it does
not violate democratic principles or fundamental rights. And, therefore,
the right of self-determination is perfectly compatible with the
Constitution”. She added that the Constitutional Court of Spain adopted a
sentence in this same spirit on 25 March 2014. According to Barceló,
the Constitution is not an impediment to the fact that the citizens of
Catalonia may vote on building a new European state; “the impediment is
of a political kind and, probably, based on a lack of democratic
culture.”
The principle of territorial integrity merely applies to interstate relations
The Director of the Global Studies Institute, Nicolas Levrat, in turn
referred to the legal bases of the independence process according to
United Nations and EU law. He observed that there are a great number of
small states that resulted from declarations of independence. He also
highlighted that the principle of territorial integrity – which could be
brought up against the independence of Catalonia – merely applies to
interstate relations. For Levrat it is obvious that the Catalan question
is not only an internal matter of Spain's, but a European question, not
least because the continuity of an independent Catalonia within the EU
is uncertain. In light of this, he noted that “leaving the EU is not as
easy! The Catalans already are European citizens with full rights and,
if they were to leave the EU, this would have to be negotiated. It will
not be easy for Spain to use its right of veto”.
