Spain hits back after threat
Catalonia’s autonomy may be suspended if separatists follow up on breakaway plan
SPAIN threatened yesterday to suspend Catalonia’s autonomy if it follows through on its threat to break away as an independent country. Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has vowed to do everything in his power to prevent Catalan secession following a banned referendum in the region, which remains deeply divided over independence.
He held an emergency cabinet meeting after Catalonia’s president Carles Puigdemont said on Tuesday that he had accepted the mandate for “Catalonia to become an independent state”.
Rajoy asked the Catalan leader to clarify whether he had actually declared independence, which could trigger moves by Madrid to suspend the region’s semi-autonomous status.
“The answer from the Catalan president will determine future events, in the next few days,” Rajoy said.
“The government wants to offer certainty to Spaniards, especially Catalans. It wants to avoid the confusion generated by Catalan authorities.”
The Catalan crisis is Spain’s most serious political emergency since its return to democracy four decades ago.
World leaders are watching closely and uncertainty over the fate of the region of 7.5 million people has damaged business confidence.
Puigdemont said the referendum had given him a mandate for independence, but immediately asked regional legislators to suspend the declaration to allow for negotiations with the central government.
Rajoy could choose to trigger constitution article 155, which allows Madrid to impose control over its devolved regions – a move many fear could lead to unrest.
The leader of the opposition Socialist Party, Pedro Sanchez, said his side and the government had agreed to study a possible constitutional reform.
The debate would focus on “how Catalonia remains in Spain, and not how it leaves”, Sanchez said.
While separatist leaders say 90% of voters opted to split from Spain in this month’s plebiscite, less than half of the eligible voters turned out.
The drive to break Catalonia away from Spain has raised concern for stability in a European Union still coming to terms with Britain’s shock decision to leave the bloc.
The EU urged full respect of the Spanish constitutional order yesterday, with European Commission vice-president Valdis Dombrovskis saying the bloc was following developments closely.
Crowds of thousands gathered outside the parliament building in Barcelona on Tuesday ahead of Puigdemont’s speech, waving Catalan flags and banners and screaming “democracy” in the hope of witnessing history in the making.
But Spain’s political establishment rounded on Puigdemont following his declaration, and support among separatists in Catalonia was mixed.
The crisis has caused deep uncertainty for businesses in one of the wealthiest regions in the eurozone’s fourth-largest economy.
A string of companies have already moved their legal headquarters – but not their employees – from Catalonia to other parts of the country.