Spain approves emergency law to allow business to quit Catalonia

THE Spanish government has approved an emergency decree allowing companies based in Catalonia to move elsewhere in the country, as tensions deepen over separatist threats to declare the region independent.

A trickle of businesses announcing a move out of Catalonia looked like turning into a torrent yesterday as Gas Natural Fenosa, Spain’s largest domestic energy company, decided to transfer its headquarters from Barcelona to Madrid. Caixabank, Catalonia’s biggest bank and the third-largest in Spain, also decided to transfer its registered domicile to Valencia due to “the current political and social situation”.

Banco Sabadell, Spain’s fifth-largest bank, said on Thursday that it was leaving Catalonia and would register in Alicante. And yesterday, the smaller Banco Mediolanum announced it was moving to Valencia, while Freixenet, an emblematic producer of Catalan cava, indicated that independence for Catalonia would make it likely to take its business elsewhere.

The emergency decree, approved by the cabinet of Mariano Rajoy, the prime minister, states that unless a company’s statutes specifically state that the directors cannot take the decision to shift headquarters, then a simple vote by the board to switch region will suffice.

But Oriol Junqueras, Catalonia’s vice-president, accused the Spanish government of “pressuring” companies to flee Catalonia in order to “create roadblocks and make the transition to independence more costly”.

Spain’s economy ministry hit back with a statement, saying the urgency was justified “to guarantee that the principle of business freedom remained in force”. The move placed further pressure on Carles Puigdemont, Catalonia’s president, who has said he plans to declare independence from Spain early next week, following a referendum on Oct 1 marred by violence.

The Catalan government announced yesterday that 2.3 million votes had been cast in the referendum, representing a 43 per cent turnout, and that 90 per cent had voted for independence.

But Artur Mas, a former leader of Catalonia, said the region would not have all preparations in place to enjoy “real independence”. In an interview with the Financial Times, Mr Mas, who is barred from politics for organising an illegal referendum on independence in 2014, said Catalonia would not be able to exercise control over borders, tax collection and the courts.

Without clarifying whether the declaration of independence would go ahead, Mr Puigdemont asked the Catalan parliament to allow him to address members next Tuesday, in an apparent attempt to sidestep the constitutional court’s suspension of Monday’s planned parliamentary session.

And in a conciliatory gesture from Madrid, the representative of Spain’s central government in Catalonia apologised for the police’s use of violence during the referendum.

“I know people have been hit, pushed and even one person who was hospitalised,” Enric Millo said. “I can’t help but regret it and apologise on behalf of the officers that intervened.”