The political process "Catalonia, new state in Europe" is about to
enter a second phase. The first phase, that of pro-independence
characterized by the leadership of Catalan civil society organizations
(Òmnium, the Catalan National Assembly, the consultations held in
municipalities throughout Catalonia, etc.), will end on November 25th
when the Catalans go to the polls. This first phase began with the
July 2010 demonstration-response to the ruling of the Spanish
Constitutional Court on the Catalan Statute of Autonomy, a relatively
modest text that had been ratified in a referendum by the citizens of
Catalonia. As different studies have shown, support for independence
over these last twenty-eight months has not stopped growing, to the
point that became the unquestionable expression of the massive
demonstration on September 11th, 2012.
After November 25th we will enter a new phase of independence, led by
the country's institutions (Government and Parliament) and its
political parties. This second phase will have two stages to it. The
first will be the period between the elections and the holding of a
referendum/consultation. The second, if the "yes" option were to win,
would go from the referendum to the formalization of the new Catalan
state. For each of these two stages there are different tasks to be
carried out, and we should not mix up the objectives and their
respective strategies. One of the aspects that generates the most
confusion today is Catalonia's adhesion to the European Union in the
case of a "yes" vote in the referendum. Let's take a look at how this
particular issue is handled in the case of Scotland-United Kingdom,
and we can use the two aforementioned phases as a basis for our
comparison.
The elections-referendum phase. It seems quite clear that the EU does
not have a fixed position on processes of "internal enlargement." It
is also clear that the Scottish and Catalan cases are protagonized by
European citizens (who have been so for 40 years in the case of
Scotland, and 26 in the case of Catalonia). Nonetheless, we can see a
stark contrast between Scotland and Catalonia regarding two basic
aspects. The first is that Scottish citizens are legally guaranteed
the right to express their opinion in a democratic referendum, planned
for the autumn of 2014, about whether they prefer to remain within the
United Kingdom or build a new State. In exchange, the citizens of
Catalonia suffer from a constitutional framework that prevents them
from exercising this right. It can be expected, therefore, that the
Catalan consultation will have to take place within an international
legal framework. The Catalan and Scottish cases also differ in that,
while the polls indicate that the majority of Scottish citizens are in
favor of continuing within the United Kingdom, in Catalonia it is
quite feasible that a majority of citizens will support the forming a
Catalan state. What one group has, the other lacks.
In terms of democracy, modernity, rights and respect for internal
pluralism, the contrast couldn't be any starker between the British
and Spanish policies. While the Scots will be preparing for the
referendum over the next few years, debating the pros and cons of each
position, in Catalonia the main task will be to ensure that the
consultation can take place, especially considering the hostility of
the Spanish constitutional framework. A fundamental objective of the
next Catalan Government will be to ensure that the referendum takes
place, and with all the procedural and legal guarantees that would
give it full legitimacy on an international level. To achieve this
objective the Catalan Government will be collaborating with and
counting on the support of the citizenry and civil society.
Throughout this phase both the Scots and the Catalans will continue to
be citizens of the EU.
The phase of the referendum-formal declaration of the new State. In
the Scottish case, the post-referendum process is described in detail
in different reports (for example, take a look at the one signed by
Graham Avery, decision-maker and expert on European matters; session
2012-13, HC 643, accessible on the homepage of the British Parliament;
let me repeat this, not the Scottish Parliament, but the British
one!). The text is emphatic about how irrational and unrealistic it
would be to assume that Scotland would be kicked out of the EU to then
be admitted again shortly afterward. It also takes as a given that
after the referendum a simplified procedure would be used for
Scotland's adhesion as a new member of the EU (a simplified —and
speeded-up— procedure was also used in the case of unified Germany).
It is a very different procedure from that of the adhesion of new
members to the EU. Scotland, as they say, is not Turkey. There are
European citizenry rights that have to be respected. Anything else
would be contradictory to the values of the European Union. The
modifications to be made to the treaties would be minimal (decisions
on the number of MEPs, votes in the Council, etc.).
This procedure would be carried out at the same time as the
governments of London and Edinburgh are negotiating the specific terms
of the separation. In this second transitory phase it's possible that
certain formulas for Scotland's participation in the EU could be
adopted, such as having a voice without a vote in the Council,
representation in the inter-governmental conferences, a delegate in
the Commission, etc. Thus, at the end of this phase we would witness,
simultaneously, the formal declaration of independence and full access
to the EU.
After the referendum, Catalonia's case could be regulated with a
similar procedure. This is why I have proposed that the referendum in
Catalonia should be held on the same day as the Scottish referendum.
It would be the Scot-Cat referendum day. As a result, the process
would be Europeanized automatically. And the EU's answer would have to
be the same for both cases.
Image by IGNOT, originally published in La Vanguardia
http://www.it-intransit.eu/catalonia-scotland-and-eu
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