Automatic expulsion from the EU of an independent Catalonia "unrealistic" say experts
CNA
Barcelona (ACN).- International experts
have participated in a day of debate over the hypothetical scenarios and
the possible consequences regarding membership or expulsion from
European Union of an independent Catalonia. The panellists ruled out
automatic expulsion, as well as automatic membership, in any scenario.
Graham Avery, Senior Adviser of the Brussels-based think tank European
Policy Centre (EPC), underlined that "the most important" element in
deciding what would happen to an independent Catalonia would be "the
process" through which it achieves this independence. If it was carried
out with the agreement of the Spanish Government, the transition towards
full EU membership would be quite fast and smooth. If it was done
unilaterally, then a wide range of scenarios are possible, with risks
and costs rising. However, a majority of experts have stated that even
in the worst case scenario, the costs would not be as high as the
Spanish Government is saying. In addition, they affirmed that the EU is
likely to adopt a pragmatic approach and that a transition regime is
likely to be set up, with basic policies and freedoms not being
interrupted.
In a day of debate called 'Catalonia and the European Union: EU
Capacity for Pragmatic Approaches', organised by Public Diplomacy
Council of Catalonia (Diplocat), European and Catalan experts
participated in 4 round tables that discussed how the EU institutions
and the Member States would react in the event of Catalonia becoming
independent from Spain. The experts of renowned international prestige
analysed the EU accession process, the monetary union, the access to the
Single Market and the acquired citizenship rights.
In general terms, they concluded that the EU will adopt a pragmatic
approach, as it tends to do in the face of situations that are not
foreseen in the Treaties. The experts ruled out completely the automatic
expulsion of Catalonia from the EU. Instead, many of them voiced the
belief that the most likely outcome would be the setting up of
transition regimes in different areas, with some of these being
negotiated much faster than others and such a transition period
guaranteeing the continuity of the basic policies and freedoms without
interruption. In this vein, Catalonia's formal status within the EU
could remain "fuzzy" for a while, but citizens and companies should not
notice the effects of this in everyday life. Furthermore, many
international experts indicated before their addresses that they were
neither in favour nor against Catalonia's independence, but that they
believed Catalans should have all the information available.
Some of the experts of international prestige who participated were:
Angus Armstrong, Director of Macroeconomics at the National Institute of
Economic and Social Research (NIESR); Kai-Olaf Lang, Head of the EU
Integration Research Division of the German Institute for International
and Security Affairs (SWP); Nicolas Levrat, Director of the Global
Studies Institute (GSI) of the University of Geneva; Thorvaldur
Gylfason, Professor of Economics at the University of Iceland; Jordi
Gual, Chief Strategy Officer and Chief Economist of the "la Caixa"
banking group; Jaume Ventura, PhD in Economics from Harvard University
and Senior Researcher at Barcelona's Centre for Research in
International Economics (CREI); and Jordi Galí, Director of the CREI and
one of Europe's main experts on monetary policy.
Capacity for Pragmatic Approaches', organised by Public Diplomacy
Council of Catalonia (Diplocat), European and Catalan experts
participated in 4 round tables that discussed how the EU institutions
and the Member States would react in the event of Catalonia becoming
independent from Spain. The experts of renowned international prestige
analysed the EU accession process, the monetary union, the access to the
Single Market and the acquired citizenship rights.
In general terms, they concluded that the EU will adopt a pragmatic
approach, as it tends to do in the face of situations that are not
foreseen in the Treaties. The experts ruled out completely the automatic
expulsion of Catalonia from the EU. Instead, many of them voiced the
belief that the most likely outcome would be the setting up of
transition regimes in different areas, with some of these being
negotiated much faster than others and such a transition period
guaranteeing the continuity of the basic policies and freedoms without
interruption. In this vein, Catalonia's formal status within the EU
could remain "fuzzy" for a while, but citizens and companies should not
notice the effects of this in everyday life. Furthermore, many
international experts indicated before their addresses that they were
neither in favour nor against Catalonia's independence, but that they
believed Catalans should have all the information available.
Some of the experts of international prestige who participated were:
Angus Armstrong, Director of Macroeconomics at the National Institute of
Economic and Social Research (NIESR); Kai-Olaf Lang, Head of the EU
Integration Research Division of the German Institute for International
and Security Affairs (SWP); Nicolas Levrat, Director of the Global
Studies Institute (GSI) of the University of Geneva; Thorvaldur
Gylfason, Professor of Economics at the University of Iceland; Jordi
Gual, Chief Strategy Officer and Chief Economist of the "la Caixa"
banking group; Jaume Ventura, PhD in Economics from Harvard University
and Senior Researcher at Barcelona's Centre for Research in
International Economics (CREI); and Jordi Galí, Director of the CREI and
one of Europe's main experts on monetary policy.
More on
Catalan Independence, Citizenship, Democracy, Diplocat, Diplomacy, EU Citizenship, EU Membership, European Central Bank, European Commission, European Union, Eurozone, International Law, Public Diplomacy Council of Catalonia, Referendum, Self-Determination, Single Market, Vote
The first round table debate of the event (by S. Azad)
