... continuing to act within a parallel legality, while taking part in it would mean sacrificing their principles and returning to Spain’s legal framework (recent months have shown, though, that separatist parties could operate within two legalities simultaneously).... ...
At the other flank, polls predict major success for the Citizens party with its Catalan roots and consistent stance against separatism (it proposed invoking Article 155 much earlier than Rajoy did). At the same time, the possibility of pooling forces ...
... so that the country takes on aspects of a federation would include recognizing the “distinctive character” of Catalonia as a result of its history, culture and language, with reform being essential for finally “integrating it into Spain” [3].
How will the Mariano Rajoy government respond to the challenge of Catalan separatism? The answer takes on added importance because in less than three months, on December 20, Spain will face perhaps the most important parliamentary elections in its modern history. The ruling party is expected to meet with strong opposition, ...
... themselves from the member states, it does not prohibit it either. The legal question remains open. That being said, it is hard to imagine all the EU member states agreeing unanimously to accept Catalonia should the region actually apply for membership. Spain itself and other EU members dealing with regional separatism are unlikely to support the application.
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Meanwhile, there are divisions within the winning camp itself. Josep Antoni Duran i Lleida, President of the Democratic Union of Catalonia – one of the CiU’s two constituent ...
... member countries (although there is no prohibition of such an entry either, and the problem is still legally unresolved). Should Catalonia apply for admission in the EU, it’s hard to imagine that its members will demonstrate the required unanimity. Spain and other EU countries facing regional separatism are unlikely to support such a request.
Polls in recent years indicate constant fluctuations in the correlation of forces between supporters and opponents of the independence of Catalonia. No party enjoys a significant advantage over the other: ...
... Northern Ireland, rooted in the sentiment of Catholics living in the Northern part of the island craving for the union with the larger part of Ireland independent from the Protestant British.
The second European “pain point” suffering from separatism is Spain, with its two regions historically discontented by their status: Catalonia and the Basque Country. The population of these Spanish regions has always suffered from disregard of their national, cultural and language special features by the central ...
... “Europe of Regions”, which dictates the need to increase self-external relations. It is also clear that the collapse of a number of multinational states (USSR, Yugoslavia, and Czechoslovakia) has strengthened the disintegration processes in Spain.
Basque Country: varieties of separatism
In the Basque Country and Catalonia, an important part of the ideological arsenal of the separatists is played by a myth-making process, artificial designed traditions "of an ancient sovereign nation", while rejecting the actually ...
