Decolonizing Europe?

The 2014 sovereignty referendum in Catalonia

Catalonia v. Pasos Catalans

Crown of Aragon in 1441

1479: Marriage of Ferdinand of Aragon & Isabella of Castile

September 11th, 1714: End of the Siege of Barcelona & the War of Spanish Succession

Uniform v. Assimilated Spain

1918: The Wilson Doctrine & the estelada flag

April 1931: 2nd Republic proclaimed & Generalitat reestablishedSeptember 1932: Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia approvedJuly 1936: military revolt & beginning of the Spanish WarDecember 1938: Franco invades CataloniaSeptember 1977: Franco's decree of dissolution recalled; Generalitat reestablished provisionally from exileDecember 1978: new Spanish Constitution approvedNovember 1979: new Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia approved

2006 Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia

September 2005: approved by the Parliament of Catalonia

November 2005: admitted by Spanish Parliament

February 2006: 125,000 people demonstrate in Barcelona against modifications

March 2006: modified & approved by the Lower House

May 2006: modified & approved by the Senate

June 2006: approved in Catalonia by referendum (49% participation, 74% in favor)

July 2006: the Popular Party appeals 187 of 242 articles to the Constitutional Court

"State investment in infrastructures in Catalonia shall be equal to the relative participation of Catalonia's gross domestic product in the gross domestic product of the State for a period of seven years. These investments may also be employed in eliminating tolls or for construction of alternative expressway roads." (Statute, 3rd Additional Provision)

Contrary to the interregional solidarity principle [...]. The essence of solidarity [...] is the relative impove-rishment of the giver and the relative enrichment of the receiver (Appeal to the Constitutional Court)

The Fight over Infrastructures

Toll roads

67% two-way roads are tolled vs. 20% in rest of Spain

Example: Montgat-Matar; 21 million cost vs. 682 million benefits

April 2006: Royal Decree 457 extends concessions to 2021

Infrastructure investment

YearBudgeted investment (millions )Effective investment

20042,1911,535 (70,1%)

20052,1861,640 (75%)

20062,4441,876 (76,8%)

Upshot: the central government "forgets" every fourth year of investment

Barcelona vs. Madrid Airport

23 bilateral agreements between Spain and foreign airlines preventing their landing in Barcelona

State-centralized management unique in Europe (besides Romania)

Better investment for Madrid Airport

1991-2000 investment for airports in % of GPPassengers in 2011Percentage of alloted resources in 2011

Madrid0.1741,700.00055%

Catalonia0.0434,000.00025%

The "Madriterranian" railway corridor

April 2004: Madrid includes the Central Pyrenees Rail Pass in the Trans-European Transport Networks Guidelines for 2014-2020

October 2011: the European Union prioritizes funding for the Mediterranian Railway Corridor

High-Speed Rail: A radial network

Madrid-Seville: 1992Madrid-Lleida: 2003Madrid-Antequera: 2006Madrid-Malaga: 2007Madrid-Valladolid: 2007Madrid-Barcelona: 2008Madrid-Valencia: 2010Perpiny (France) -Figueres: 2010Barcelona-Figueres: 2013

2007 Statute of Autonomy of Andalusia

Approved by Parliament with PP support

Approved by referendum February 2007

39 appealed articles from the Catalan Statute copied almost verbatim

35 other appealed articles significantly similarThe investment granted to Andalusia will be equivalent to Andalusias weight in Spains population for a period of 7 years (3rd Additional Disposition)

2007: Chaos and Outrage

Construction of the high speed rail through Barcelona

July 23-27: great power outage

October 15 to December 1: suburban railway system halted

Ms de 350.000 llars es van quedar sense llum a Barcelona durant uns 4 dies

December 1st 2007 Demonstration

200,000 (police) to 700,000 people (organizers)

Slogan: "We are a nation and we say enough! We have the right to decide on our infrastructures."

Organizer: Platform for the Right to Decide

Demands:

Transfer of mass transportation services to the Generalitat

Publication of the tax balance between regions

Tax autonomy for Catalonia

July 15, 2008: 2005 tax balance published

Catalonia's tax balance: -8.7%

Taxation and funding regime unique to the Basque Autonomous Community

Renewed since 1878

The Quota:

Payment for services not devolved to the Community & general costs of the State (army, embassies)

Prorated to its weight in the national income and population

Renegotiated every 5th year

The Basque Economic Agreement

Proposals of "fiscal agreement"

Catalonia too big to receive Basque agreement

Compromise: limiting fiscal deficit to 4%

Artur Mas key electoral pledge in the 2010 campaign

Year 2010Population (millions)Contribution to Spains GNP

Basque Country2.2 6.1%

Catalonia7.518.6%

Madrid6.517.8%

Andalusia8.513.7%

The 2009 Popular Legislative Initiative

Regulated by Parliament in 200650,000 signatures required after approval

Only allows inclusion of bills in the Parliaments agenda

May 6 2009: PLI presented by Deumil.catDo you agree that Catalonia become a sovereign, democratic & social state within the EU?

Date proposed: Sept. 12, 2010

June 16, 2009: Rejected by Parliament for want of competence on referendums

Spanish Constitution on Referendums (1)

Part III, chap. II, sec. 92Political decisions of special importance may be submitted to all citizens in a consultative referendum.

The referendum shall be called by the King on the President of the Government's proposal after previous authorization by the Congress.

An organic act shall lay down the terms and procedures for the different kinds of referendum provided for in this Constitution.

Spanish Constitution on Referendums (2)

Part VIII, chap. III, sec. 149

The State shall have exclusive competence over the following matters:

32. Authorization of popular consultations through the holding of referendums.

2006 Statute on Referendums

Title IV, art.122The Generalitat has exclusive power over the establishment of the legal system, the modalities, the procedure, the implementation and the calling, whether by the Generalitat or by local bodies, acting within their jurisdiction, of public opinion polls, public hearings, participation forums and any other instruments of popular consultation, with the exception of those provided for by Article 149.1.32 of the Constitution

The First Town Referendum

Arenys de Munt: 8,500 inhabitants

June 4, 2009: the town council authorizes a private association to use public facilities to survey local opinion on the PLI

Aug: a fascist party is authorized to demonstrate during the referendum

Sep. 3: the Goverments Delegate sues the town council to suspend its minutes

Sept. 13, 2009: referendum takes place in private facilities

Town registry used instead of the electoral census

16-year-olds & foreign residents allowed to vote

More Town Referendums

Dec. 7, 2009: the Governments Delegate decides not to appeal against the new referendums

Referendum waves:Dec. 13, 2009: 167 towns

Feb. 28, 2010: 80 towns

April 24, 2010: 211 towns

June 20, 2010: 48 towns

April 10, 2011: Barcelona

City referendums

Institutional Support

County Councils

Town Councils

Results

553 towns of 947

4,668,673 people called to vote

19% participation

Yes: 91.74%

Catalan Parliament resolutions:March 3, 2010 & March 10, 2011

In acknowledgement and support of the consultations

In remembrance of previous Parliament resolutions asserting that Catalonia never relinquished its right to self-determination (Dec. 12, 1989, Oct. 1, 1998).

Defining Referendum

Ruling 103/2008 (Sept. 11, 2008) by the Constitutional Court

Invalidates as unconstitutional a call to a referendum by the Parliament of the Basque Country on the Basque peoples right to decide

Defines referendum as involving the national electorate.

Does not mention town registries or other databases

Flaws in the Constitutional Court

Judicial review vs. parlamentary sovereignty (cf. UK, Netherlands, Finnland, Israel)

However:No linguistic/ethnic quotas for the appointment of judges (cf. Belgium, Switzerland)

Judges appointed for 9 years (cf. USA, Canada, India)

8 of 12 judges appointed by Parliament (4 by Lower House, 4 by Senate)

Flaws in the Senate

A chamber for territorial representation or for second reading?

Autonomic representation overlayed to provincial and demographic representation

Coffee for all: 11 Spanish-language autonomous regions out of 17

Controversy on language interpretation

The Battle around the Court

February 2007: 1 judge recused from the Statute case

May 2007: Constitutional Court Law reformedThe legislatures of the autonomous communities will nominate the judges to be appointed by the Senate

July 2007: PP appeals to the Court agains the reform

December 2007: the term for the 4 Senate-nominated judges expires

May 2008: 1 judge dies without being replaced

July 2008: the election of two Senate candidates is recused by PSOE for twisting the spirit of the law

2010: 1 judge appointed by PSOE switches over to the anti-Statute band

The Statute Ruling

June 28 2010: Constitutional Courts ruling released

July 9 2010: entire ruling published

14 articles stricken down as unconstitutional

23 articles reinterpreted

Interpretive Rulings

December 2007 ruling on the new Statute of Valencia: first interpretive ruling

Nontraditional legal principle: constitutional when meaning...

Criticized in 4 dissenting votes: It reconstrues the law forcing it to say something completely different

A legal coup?Juridical insecurity

Judiciary court turned into legislative chamber

A doubly indirect democracy

Spanish Constitution on Sovereignty

National sovereignty belongs to the Spanish people, from whom all state powers emanate. (Part I, Sec. 1, Art. 2)

The Constitution is based on the indissoluble unity of the Spanish Nation, the common and indivisible homeland of all Spaniards; it recognizes and guarantees the right to self-government of the nationalities and regions of which it is composed and the solidarity among them all. (Part I, Sec. 2)

Statute of Catalonia (Preamble): "Catalonias self-government is founded on the Constitution, and also on the historical rights of the Catalan people"

"The Parliament of Catalonia has defined Catalonia as a nation by ample majority"

References to Catalonia as a nation and the national reality of Catalonia made invalid

Statute of Andalusia (Preamble)The Constitution, in its Art. 2, acknowledges Andalusia as a nationality within the indissoluble framework of the Spanish nation.

Demonstration "We are a nation. We decide."

July 10th, 2010

Organized by Omnium Cultural

600,000 people (source: Spanish Government)

1,500,000 people (source: city police)

2,000,000 people (source: organizers)

The Economic Recession & the Budget Cuts

International pressures to curb public spending to prevent Spains bailout

March 2012: Madrid sets public deficit limit of 1.5% GNP to regions; EU raises Spains limit from 4.4% to 5.3%

May 2012: Madrid & other regions exposed for raising the 2011 public spending

July 2012: Spains limit further raised to 6.3%; regional spending for 2013 reduced from 1.1% to 0.7%

Spanish Constitution on Language

Part I, section 3

Castilian is the official Spanish language of the State. All Spaniards have the duty to know it and the right to use it.

The other Spanish languages shall also be official in the respective Self-governing Communities in accordance with their Statutes.

The richness of the different linguistic modalities of Spain is a cultural heritage which shall be specially respected and protected.

Catalan Language after the Ruling

Catalonia's own language is Catalan. As such, Catalan is the language of normal and preferential use in Public Administration bodies and in the public media of Catalonia, and is also the language of normal use for teaching and learning in the education system. (Statute, art. 6.1)

The Court rules that the constitutional duty of knowing Spanish entails satisfying the citizens right to know it through their basic instruction

Interprets a right to receive instruction in Catalan and Spanish

The Balear Islands

Oct. 2010: Bauza pledges to repeal the Language Normalization Law

Dec. 2011: Mallorca TV discontinued

June 2012: Catalan language no longer mandatory for civil servants; Catalan schooling no longer mandatory under 7 years.

Oct. 2012: published draft of decree reducing minimum of Catalan instruction from 50% to 20%; 13% of elementary classes start instruction in Spanish

Nov. 2012: the Balear government withdraws from the Ramon Llull Institute

Suprem Court Rulings

Dec. 9, 13 & 16, 2010; May 4, 10 & 19, 2011

Declare normalization of Catalan language already achieved

Enjoin the Generalitat to take steps to adapt the teaching system to the situation created by the Constitutional Court ruling and make Spanish a medium of instruction alongside Catalan in a reasonable proportion

June 12, 2012: the Supreme Court annuls parts of the 2008 Generalitat decree setting the curriculum for pre-schools (3-6 years)Strikes down individualized support in Spanish as discriminatory & eliminates requirement to petition for Spanish instruction

States a right to receive instruction in ones own [habitual] languageSchool activities must be allowed to be done in Spanish when students everyday [habitual] language is the common language of all Spaniards

Denounces juridical insecurity in the right to receive instruction in Spanish

Demonstration "Catalonia, a new European state"

September 11th, 2012

Organized by the National Catalan Assembly

600,000 people (source: Spanish Government)

1,500,000 people (source: city police)

2,000,000 people (source: organizers)

Sept. 11th 2012: "Catalonia, New European State" demonstration

Sept. 20: Madrid rejects the proposal for a "tax agreement"

Sept. 25: Artur Mas announces snap elections

Sept. 26: Sovereignty Resolution

"The attempts to incardinate Catalonia into the Spanish state, and the latter's repeated reactions, are a dead-end street. Catalonia must start its national transition based on the right to decide.""The Parliament of Catalonia realizes the necessity that the Catalan people be allowed to freely and democratically choose its common future and urges the Government to implement a popular consultation during the next legislature."

Per els intents d'encaix de Catalunya a l'Estat espanyol i les seves reiterades respostes sn avui una via sense recorregut, Catalunya ha d'iniciar la seva transici nacional basada en el dret a decidir.5-El Parlament de Catalunya constata la necessitat que el poble de Catalunya pugui determinar lliurement i democrtica el seu futur col . lectiu i insta el govern fer una consulta prioritriament dins la propera legislatura.

Sovereignty Resolution

Numerical defeat of CiU

Decline of the socialist party

Growth of sovereignty & unionist parties

Election results

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