The Catalonia independence movement is a political movement which is derived from Catalan Nationalism. Catalonia independence have strong roots from past 19th century that Catalonia is nation which is derived from contemporary political and cultural ideology based on the history of Catalonia that is the Catalan language and tradition. The starting of the separatism can be seen from early 20th century, when some organization and political parties started demanding for full independence from Spain and that is mainly because of the Franco regime’s oppression of Spanish and Catalan people and culture which helped the movement in getting more sympathizers. There was a debate going on from long time that Catalonia will be a member of European Union after getting separated from Spain or not? Recently the European Commission in Brussels announced that if Catalonia gets independence and gets separated from Spain then it will no longer be a part of the European Union. There were line of event which made the Catalonia independence a strong movement.
On 10th July 2010 Catalan autonomy protest happened in central Barcelona which was a demonstration against the limits set to the autonomy of Catalonia within Spain. The estimated number of people who took part in the demonstration was around 1.1 million according to the local police. It was described as one of the biggest protest march that had ever occurred in Catalonia. The protest led by a banner with slogan in Catalan saying “Som una nacio. Nosaltres decidim”. In English “We are a nation. We decide”. Many believed that this was a turning point in relation between Catalonia and Spain.
In 2012 Catalonia independence demonstration which was organized by the Catalan National Assembly had argued that Catalonia should become an independent state within the European Union. Under the slogan “Catalonia, new state in Europe”. The estimated participants in the demonstration were about 1.5 million according to Barcelona’s Municipal Police and Catalonia’s department of the Interior. It is considered as the biggest protest march ever held in Catalonia since the restoration of democracy in Spain, surpassing other major demonstration which includes the 2010 Catalan autonomy protest. The event marked the Catalan political agenda and again started the debate on the right to hold a referendum on the independence of Catalonia as well as the debate about the feasibility of an independent Catalan state and its integration into the European Union. Catalonia wants to be a part of European Union even after getting independence and for that Catalonia needs to reapply for membership in European Union.
On 23rd January 2013 the parliament of Catalonia adopted by 85 favorable votes, 41 against and 2 abstentions the Declarations of Sovereignty and of the Right to Decide of the Catalan people. This was the beginning of a process by which the citizens of Catalonia will be able to choose their political future.
On 8th May 2013 this declaration was suspended by the Constitutional Court of Spain. The Spanish government is totally against the Catalonia independence and its self-determination because the centre which is Madrid is getting its highest revenue in form of taxes from Catalonia State of Spain and which is funding many of government operations all over Spain.
The decision regarding Catalonia as independent state must be studied taking into account an important fact that a huge number of Catalan citizens are immigrant or non-Catalan Spanish origin and thus may not feel a connection with the Catalan language and culture. From my point of view if Catalonia gets independence there are very high chances of relocation of businesses from both the states Catalonia and Spain because of political and economical instability in these states which can lead to a significant fall in the GDP, exponential increase in public deficit and the devastating impact of leaving the euro as a breakaway state from EU. By this I want to state that independent Catalonia would be just another example of the same mistake consistently made in the rest of the Europe. Just like in the past many European states did it by finding justification in defense of freedom or local governance thinking it’s more appropriate.
Without considering the path they have chosen will not only sparks rejection of behaviors but also hard time in acceptance against immigrants and cultural differences. An independent Catalonia there for can result in cultural conflicts between European citizens and being another country with restrictions on free immigration in Europe. There will be many changes Catalonia will undergo if it gets independence but still removal of the welfare state is not going to happen because as we know that solidarity between individuals can only be built from the implementation of paternalistic policies of transferring wealth to the excluded and weaker sections of the region. The idea behind independence is to gain autonomy from the Spanish government and give it to the supranational organizations which are even less accountable to the common citizens. Catalonians are blaming their economic woes on the Spanish government and the same time they are thinking that supranational organizations are neither centralist, nor irresponsible and nor wasteful. Catalonian should become more realistic and should start seeing the problem from broader prospective because full autonomy can’t assure the growth or betterment of Catalonia and its citizens. The Catalonia wants to be independent with a separate European Union identity but they were not considering the possibility of leaving the European Union which is their only conceivable source of commerce that is Europe’s protectionist institutional structure. While the European Union stating that if Catalonia is rejecting to help its country in crises and demanding independence by acting as a selfish state then why European Union should help Independent Catalonia? Now the European Commission in Brussels has already announced that Catalonia can’t be a member of European Union if it gets the independence. And there is very little chance of growth of independent Catalonia without EU membership.
I don’t mean that independence is undesirable but by considering the present political climate and the direction of the movement shows that independence will not change the situation or solve the problems Catalonia or Spain as whole is facing. We often forget that crises are also the opportunities for countries to identify their past mistakes and take all the measures to correct them and make sure it will not repeat it again in future. Now we know that if Catalonia will get independence it will be less of European Union because as the European Commission said that Catalonia will not be a part of EU if it gets separated from Spain but here I am standing against it by saying Catalonia should not get independence and instead Catalonia should help Spain fighting the crises because independence will only lead both Catalonia and Spain towards worst conditions.
