Spain to reveal Catalan control measures today
SPANISH prime minister Mariano Rajoy said his government will announce specific measures today to take control of the Catalonia region, now that an agreement has been reached with the country’s main opposition parties.
Mr Rajoy refused to confirm if the agreement with the Socialists includes plans to hold regional elections in Catalonia in January, as announced by the party’s negotiator earlier. His government also reached agreement with the centre-right, pro-business Ciudadanos (Citizens) party.
Mr Rajoy, commenting on the unprecedented constitutional step he is taking to assume control of Catalonia, said: “The goal is double: the return to legality, and the recovery of institutional normalcy.”
The prime minister said the Catalan crisis was only discussed on the sidelines of a European leaders’ summit because the political deadlock is an internal Spanish affair.
But he said his fellow leaders share his concern that Catalan separatist authorities have acted against the rule of law and democracy.
The main negotiator for the opposition Socialist party, Carmen Calvo, said earlier that a snap election in the prosperous region had been agreed upon as part of the Socialists’ support for government efforts to rein in the crisis.
The move is likely to further inflame tensions between Spain and Catalan pro-independence activists.
Catalonia’s government said it has the mandate to secede from Spain after an illegal referendum was held on October 1, and it does not want a new regional election.
The central government will hold a special Cabinet session today to begin the activation of Article 155 of Spain’s 1978 Constitution, which allows for central authorities to take over all or some of the powers of any of the country’s 17 autonomous regions.
The measure, which has never been used since democracy was restored after General Francisco Franco’s dictatorship, needs to be approved by the Senate.
Mr Rajoy’s conservative Popular Party has an absolute majority in the Senate, so it should pass easily as early as October 27.
Spain’s government also agreed on the move with the centre-right, probusiness Ciudadanos (Citizens) party, Mr Rajoy told reporters.
Although not part of the meeting’s official agenda, the Catalan crisis was the main topic in corridors and sideline discussions.
Mr Rajoy has insisted that the political deadlock is a domestic Spanish affair, but acknowledged that it was a cause of concern for his fellow leaders.
He accused the Catalan separatist authorities of acting against the rule of law and democracy and said: “This is something that goes directly against the basic principles of the European Union.”
European leaders have supported Mr Rajoy in its escalating conflict with the separatists.
Offering his “full, entire support,” French president Emmanuel Macron blamed extremist forces for “feeding” on separatism as a kind of division within Europe and a “factor of destabilisation”.
Meanwhile, some bank customers in Catalonia withdrew symbolic amounts of money to protest against financial institutions that have moved their official headquarters to other locations in Spain amid the political crisis.
Pro-independence umbrella group Crida Democracia called on consumers to put pressure on banks that made the decision.
By yesterday morning, dozens of people were lining up at a CaixaBank branch in downtown Barcelona, most of them withdrawing €150 or €160 from ATMs.
The amounts were closest to 155, in reference to Article 155.
CaixaBank and Banco Sabadell, the largest Catalan lenders, are among nearly 1,000 financial institutions and businesses that have moved their official registration out of Catalonia in the past few weeks.
The crisis over Catalonia’s quest for independence escalated on Thursday, as Spain’s central government prepared to start activating Article 155 after Catalan president Carles Puigdemont refused to abandon secession.