CATALONIA -- Catalonia has positioned itself in Europe
“Catalonia’s way in Europe” a discussion, 25.05.2016 in Salzburg:
“The
independence movements in Catalonia and Scotland are pro-European
movements, even if independence means splitting-up from an EU member
state,” said Jordi Solé, Secretary for Foreign Affairs
and the European Union of the Regional Government of Catalonia.
Politicians and scientists have discussed the current situation of
Catalonia in Spain and in the EU at
a panel discussion on ” Catalonia’ way in Europe “, which was organized
by the IRE on 25 May 2016 in the International Salzburg Association in
Salzburg.
“The
roots of the current independence movements in Europe are extremely
complex and difficult to compare to one another. There are diverse
ethnic, geographical, religious, historical, economic and linguistic
reasons,” explained IRE Chairman Prof. Dr. Franz Schausberger.
“The formation of new states in Europe is certainly nothing new for the
21st century. But increasing globalization, internationalization and,
thus, the anonymization of the labor markets and economic relations
causes a greater and stronger identification with the home region. In
the past states have separated and unified. Europe has seen
disintegrated states and empires in the last 150 years; many new, small
states have emerged.”
The
turning point for Catalonia was in 2006 when citizens have adopted the
new Statute of Autonomy (with 74%) in a referendum. However, the
decision of the Spanish Constitutional Court in Madrid on 28 June 2010
brought no progress for the Catalan government, and even put it one step
back. This and the lack of alternative proposals from Madrid were the
trigger for increased independence movements in the past 10 years. In a
non-binding public consultation on 9 November 2014, a large majority of
80.1% has voted for independence of Catalonia from Spain.
The
refusal of negotiations of Madrid and the reinforced centralization
pressure led to the belief that an independent state is the best for the
citizens of Catalonia. An additional problem is the current absence of a
full-functioning government in Spain. Since the last parliamentary
elections in December 2015, no new government has been established, so
that no calls can be made. New elections for the Spanish Parliament are
scheduled for June 2016.
But
talks with Madrid would not only include fiscal reforms, said Solé. The
Catalan government is planning elections in 2017 to legitimize
independence by a parliamentary majority, and by then prepare a plan for
their own state including a constitution. The goal is to transform the
region with 7.5 million inhabitants into an independent state by
mid-2017.
Krystyna Schreiber
is a German author and journalist and has been working on the
independence movement in Catalonia for the past years. In her book “Die
Übersetzung der Unabhängigkeit” she interviewed several personalities
from Europe on this subject. In her research she found that independence
movements are an European issue and not only a national or bilateral
problem. Dr. Kai-Olaf Lang from the Stiftung
Wissenschaft und Politik, German Institute for International Politics
and Security, supports this idea and noted that independence movements
have become a question of European domestic policy, which the EU must
begin to deal with. A creative concept must be worked out because
chances are high that Catalonia´s efforts will lead to further
independence movements throughout Europe.
The
region of Catalonia has already established contacts abroad and has
opened an office in Vienna in June 2015. Austria is a very important
location for Catalonia in order to have a representation in Central
Europe and to build relationships with these countries, explained head
of the office Adam Casals. The office functions as a Chamber of Commerce to expand business contacts with investors.
photos: Neumayr/Leo
