The Pursuit of a Catalan State

Autor: Gustau Alegret

Washinton, DC. – It is not the first time in its recent history that Catalonia has voted and approved resolutions about its self-determination right — in 1989, 1996, and in 2010 the Parliament did so. In these three cases, a majority of the Catalan MP voted and approved documents with references to the right of the "Catalan nation" to decide about its future. Since the last one in 2010, the world has seen the birth of new states which have been recognized almost right away by other country-states and even by the U.N., such as Kosovo or South Sudan. In Kosovo's case, this new European nation got its freedom unilaterally and months later it was legally endorsed by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in a historical sentence that ruled assuring that the "declaration of independence (…) did not violate general international law, Security Council resolution 1244 (1999) or the Constitutional Framework. Consequently the adoption of that declaration did not violate any applicable rule of international law."

Since Catalonia lost the war of the Spanish Succession (1701–1714), and subsequently its institutions, its people have enjoyed different levels of autonomy, but have always been part of Spain. Over the years and following democratic ways, Catalonia has recovered part of their institutions and competencies, gaining again high levels of autonomy inside the framework of another state. However, as never before today, this European nation has had such an important and serious movement of people pursuing the idea of becoming a new European nation-statedifferent from Spain.

Recently, the Spanish Constitutional Court ruled against the new Autonomous Catalan Statute, a law voted in democratic parliaments (both, the Catalan and the Spanish) and approved in referendum. The document defined competencies and the legal relation between Spain and Catalonia, but the High Court decided to cut down the Catalan autonomy levels wanted by its people. Because of that decision, more than one million people demonstrated in Barcelona on July 10th last year as a strong reaction to this sentence which goes against the will of the Catalans. Since then, more than 500 local commissions have been constituted and 50,000 volunteers have self-organized to call for a symbolic independence referendum, aimed at encouraging more Catalan citizens every day to peruse a dream of living in another nation-state inside the EU.

Now, a new resolution comes into the Catalan Parliament. One of its political minority groups, SI, is presenting a new resolution to the Chamber which goes further than the previous resolution already voted on by the Parliament. This one is inspired in the Kosovo's Parliament decision, and not only highlights the self-determination right of all nations in the world, but also gives the Catalan Government "the faculty (…) to negotiate the international recognition of the independence declaration" (art. 8).

According to this Proposed Declaration of Independence Act of Catalonia, the break from Spain would take effect after the vote and negotiations with the international community, and only if it is approved by an absolute majority of the Catalan Parliament.

Needless to say that this resolution has few chances of passing because there are not enough MP willing to vote in favor due to the parties' discipline of vote (even though most of the MP, in public appearances, have expressed their desires in favor of the independence of Catalonia). In any case, what it is true is that the only way for Catalonia to become independent is by declaring it unilaterally. Spain would never allow such a possibility — and neither did Serbia with Kosovo—, but the strength of the Catalan wiliness through democratic ways has no borders, and this desire to separate is growing every day. Without a doubt, international recognition of the new Catalan state will come right after the separation occurs. As just another recent example in the Kosovo's case: yesterday the State Department of the U.S. congratulated "the governments of Serbia and Kosovo for the first meeting of an EU-facilitated dialogue since Kosovo became independent."