CATALAN WAY

In recent days, one of the longest-running separatist conflicts reminded us of itself again. Although in the present conditions it is exclusively peaceful, its development and more importantly, consequences might play a pivotal role in the life of one of the leading European countries. We are talking about Spain, which is haunted by the Catalan autonomy's desire to fully secede from the jurisdiction of Madrid and become an independent state.

A new round of Catalan activity began last year with the victory of the nationalist forces in the elections to the Parliament of Catalonia. Soon, on 23 January 2013, the majority of Catalan lawmakers adopted a declaration on the status of Catalonia as a "sovereign legal and political entity", which opened the way for the 2014 referendum on the future of the autonomy. In May, Spain's Constitutional Court suspended the Catalan declaration. In mid-September, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy rejected a request to hold a referendum on the self-determination of the Autonomous Community of Catalonia and its possible secession from the country.

However, before such a dramatic expression of Madrid's position, the Catalans held a grand action which left no doubt that at least one part of the population of the autonomous community is decisive to achieve independence. On 11 September, Catalonia residents formed a human chain stretching for 400 kilometres - from the Catalan city capital of Barcelona to the Pyrenees through the territory of 86 towns. The campaign, dubbed the "Catalan path to independence", was dedicated to the historic event - the 299th anniversary of the capture of Barcelona by Spanish troops and the elimination of the independence of Catalonia (one might say that it was from that day, 11 September 1714, that the separatist movement began in Catalonia).

In 1936, Catalonia received autonomous status. That was the period when the Popular Front government was in power in Spain, and one of its mainstays in a civil war that soon followed was Catalonia. After the victory of supporters of General Francisco Franco, which led to mass executions of Catalan activists, the autonomy of Catalonia was eliminated. Only in 1979, four years after the death of Franco, did Catalonia gain autonomous status according to the new Spanish Constitution, which established the federal structure of the country with its division into 17 autonomous regions. In a referendum in 2006, the Catalans supported the expansion of independence from Madrid; the regional parliament received additional rights in local taxation and legal proceedings. But the Catalans soon started to voice calls for full independence. According to the draft of their new constitution, the Catalans were declared a separate nation, and their language became the state language of the region along with Castilian (Spanish).

Spain's Constitutional Court recognized all these steps as illegal. However, the Catalans strongly emphasize the difference between them and the Spaniards. In particular, they cancelled the bullfight, thus demonstrating that the bloody Spanish entertainment show is completely alien to them. Opinion polls show that about 60 % of the population of Catalonia is in favour of the separation of the autonomous community from Spain. The rationale behind this is primarily economic motivation. After all, Catalonia is the most industrialized region of Spain, which accounts for about a quarter of the country's GDP. Local authorities believe that the central government of Spain not only discriminates against Catalonia and the Catalans in respect of their language and culture, but also takes a lot more money in taxes than it returns to the province in the form of investment. The economic crisis in Spain only fuelled the protest mood in Catalonia, whose leaders are unhappy that the subsidized regions of the country continue to live off the Catalan economy.

Of course, Madrid condemns the preparation of the Catalan referendum and warns that it will not allow the state to be dismembered, especially as the Spanish Constitution does not provide for the separation of its individual regions from the country. The central government promises to block the actions of the Catalan separatists by constitutional means, but at the same time makes it clear that the state has the right to cancel self-government in the region and in accordance with the Basic Law, "use the army to protect the country's unity".

The arguments of the centre are clear on the whole. The Madrid sociologist Gabriel Rospide believes that "the Catalan separatists have no reason to talk about oppression". According to her, the region enjoys considerable autonomy and has the highest standard of living in Spain so "we are rather dealing with chauvinism fuelled by the desire of local leaders to lead a sovereign state, ride in limousines and sit on the United Nations".

Meanwhile, despite the growing voice of the Catalan separatists, the situation is such that a referendum on independence, if it is really held, may not give a positive response. It should be borne in mind that the position of sceptics is quite impressive in Catalonia - they believe that in the event of separation from Spain, Catalonia will lose too much, especially the Spanish market, where 90% of Catalan goods are sold. It is also notable that separatism is already deterring investors, at least a number of major European and American firms (in particular, the Cobega group engaged in bottling and selling Coca-Cola, as well as the American tycoon Adelson who is planning to build a city of entertainment Eurovegas) have already moved from Catalonia to Madrid.

In addition to the economic factor that deters the independence of Catalonia, there is also a geopolitical factor. Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo said that "seceding from Spain, Catalonia will automatically leave the European Union". Brussels has issued a similar warning. The European Commission confirmed that a territory, which becomes independent from an EU country, automatically ceases to be a member of the European Union. And, apparently, such a prospect, which is unattractive for the Catalans, reduces the number of supporters of independence. Of course, many in Catalonia admit that the EU itself can and will be ready to take it under its wing, but the problem is that Spain will certainly use the right to veto Catalonia's accession to the European Union.

And again, in the event of secession from Spain, Catalonia could lose support from the EU. And this is a rather big amount if you consider that from 2007 to 2010 Catalonia received 7 billion euros from Brussels and that from 2013 to 2020, it will get a further three billion only to support the agricultural sector. Moreover, an independent Catalonia will lose the privileges that exist within the framework of free trade within the EU.

All these factors suggest that Barcelona is likely to prefer to resolve the problems in relations with Madrid peacefully and without aggravating the situation. Another question is the extent to which Catalan separatism has exclusively an internal origin and is not connected with the policy of certain forces in the world who believe that national borders and sovereignty are a burden in conditions of globalization and it is easier for the "powers that be" to spread their super-influence if there are many smaller entities, fragments of collapsing states. With this in mind, it is possible that it is advantageous for someone in the world to keep the same Spain under pressure with the threat of separatism as it does not always exhibit the tractability required from it. Suffice it to recall the special position of Madrid on Kosovo - support for the territorial integrity of Serbia, as well as the Spaniards' periodic insolence in Gibraltar. In any case, this is another subject of discussion, which is of little interest to the hundreds of thousands of people who take to the streets of Barcelona with flags of Catalonia and call for the swift implementation of the age-old dream of the independence of their nation, which "separate from the Spaniards".