EU wary as Spanish separatists push self-rule vote
MADRID» A week before a highly contentious Catalonia independence referendum, the Catalan president continued to defy warnings from Spain’s national government to call off the October 1 “self rule” vote.
“It will proceed because we had foreseen a contingency plan to guarantee it, but moreover it will proceed because it has the support of the immense majority of the population,” Carles Puigdemont said in an official televised statement from Catalonia’s capital city, Barcelona.
The remarks fanned the flames of the latest separatist campaign in an embattled European Union, a bloc of 27 member states with their own respective histories and often fragile national identities. Brussels said it would not interfere with the Catalan referendum, But while most European leaders have avoided speaking out against the referendum directly, many wish to avoid a successful precedent for a breakaway region welcomed into the bloc, given the number of similar regions across Europe that might soon try to do the same. Most share the opinion of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose representatives told Reuters that Berlin has “great interest in the maintenance of stability in Spain.”
EU officials have sought to make clear the uncertain future that would befall any newly independent region. “If there were to be a ‘yes’ vote in favor of Catalan independence, then we will respect that opinion,” said Jean-claude Juncker, president of the European Commission, in a Youtube broadcast earlier this month. “But Catalonia will not be able to be an EU member state on the day after such a vote.”
That warning has been enough to discourage similar separatist campaigns in recent years, such as the Scottish referendum in 2014, when 55.3 percent of voters ultimately opted to remain in Britain, then still an EU member.
Recent polls suggest that the same may hold true in Catalonia: a majority of the roughly 7.5 million Catalans say they want the right to vote, but less than half supported a split from Spain, according to a survey conducted by the Catalan government in July.
But those statistics have not deterred Catalan officials.
Puigdemont’s latest statement came hours after he openly defied Madrid by tweeting the link to a newly created webpage listing where the polls would be located on Oct. 1. The move was the latest step in a week marked by escalating tensions between Spain’s national government and leaders from the northeastern region. The previous webpage was ordered shut down by a judge six days after launching.
A climax of the conflict came Wednesday, when Spanish Civil Guard officers raided the Catalan regional government’s offices, effectively halting preparation for the secession vote.
In images that shocked observers around the world, police confiscated election material, including 10 million ballot papers, and arrested 13 officials on a warrant from a Barcelonaseptember based judge.
That court-ordered search was the Spanish government’s clearest attempt at blocking the secession vote since the Catalan parliament approved a law two weeks ago to hold the referendum on Oct. 1, claiming that the region would declare independence within 48 hours if the majority were to vote “yes.” There will be no minimum voter turnout.
“If you care about the tranquility of most Catalans, give up this escalation of radicalism and disobedience,” Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said Wednesday night in a 10minute statement to news organizations.