Madrid and Brussels try to downplay Catalan vote

Madrid and Brussels try to downplay Catalan vote

Political fallout uncertain from big win for pro-independence parties.

By MAÏA DE LA BAUME AND HANS VON DER BURCHARD 9/28/15, 2:06 PM CET Updated 9/28/15, 5:44 PM CET http://www.politico.eu/article/madrid-brussels-downplay-catalan-vote-election-spain/

After pro-independence parties gained a majority of seats in Catalonia’s regional parliament in Sunday’s election, politicians in Madrid and Brussels scrambled to downplay talk that the outcome would undermine Spanish unity and create another political crisis for the EU.

“No Spanish citizen, wherever he or she lives, can be beyond the reach of the Spanish government,” Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said Monday, adding that the independence movement’s proposals did not conform with Spanish law.

“As long as I’m Spanish prime minister, I won’t discuss Spanish unity, national sovereignty or the equality, rights and liberties of all Spanish people.”

Pro-independence parties received an absolute majority of 72 seats in the regional parliament, which has 135 seats in total, but failed to achieve a majority in vote shares, where they reached only 48 percent.

While Catalonia’s region president Artur Mas, leader of the pro-independence movement Junts pel sí (“Together for Yes”), spoke on Sunday evening of “a double victory, for the Yes and for democracy,” interpretations of the vote result were mixed.

With an outcome of 62 seats, Junts pel sí performed worse than expected by many pre-election polls, and would need a coalition with the Candidatura d’Unitat Popular (CUP), a far-left, pro-independence party which won 10 seats, to govern.

But the CUP quickly made it clear that it wouldn’t back Mas remaining president of the region and was not in favor of declaring independence from Spain unilaterally, as Mas has promised.

“We did not win the plebiscite, so there will be no unilateral declaration of independence,” said CUP leader Antonio Baños, referring to the fact that Junts pel sí and CUP jointly received only 48 percent of the votes, although they would still have an absolute majority by seats if they formed a coalition.

Another major obstacle between the two groups is that while Mas’ movement wants to pursue a pro-European course, the CUP has said an independent Catalonia should leave the EU and the euro.

The Catalan vote, with all its uncertainties, comes at a difficult moment for the EU, which is already struggling with divisions among its 28 members over migration policy and a looming U.K. referendum on a possible separation from the bloc before 2017.

European Commission spokesperson Margaritis Schinas said he would not comment on regional elections. President Jean-Claude Juncker “was informed about the result but did not have any contact with Catalan or Spanish authorities so far,” Schinas said.

Gianni Pittella, the president of the center-left Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats group in the European Parliament, said the vote was “a regional election and not a referendum on independence.”

“The real challenge is not fragmenting national states but to make together the whole of Europe stronger,” Pittella said. “The demands for further autonomy can be fulfilled but within the national unity.”

The center-right European People’s Party group made a similar statement, arguing that it did not wish to comment on “regional elections.”

The Scottish National Party (SNP), which has been pushing for independence from the U.K., also reacted to the vote in a restrained way.

“We are very interested in what is going on there,” said Alyn Smith, a Scottish MEP from the SNP. “But there is no domino effect. Catalonia is unique. Its history, its geography, its linguistic effect makes it unique.”

Amadeu Altafaj, the Catalan government’s permanent representative to the EU, outlined to POLITICO Monday the next steps for his government, which wants to achieve independence from Spain within the next 18 months.

“We plan to create a tax administration, a central bank, and to nominate our own judges. Our own defense might follow later,” he said. “But in parallel we will be seeking talks and negotiations with the government in Madrid and the EU institutions.”

This article was updated to include comments by the head of the CUP.

Jakob Hanke contributed to this article.

Authors:

Maïa de La Baume and Hans von der Burchard