In this photo taken Sunday, September 20, 2015, FC Barcelona’s…
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At a Europa Press breakfast meeting with the media on Monday morning, Linde alluded to situations seen in Latin American countries and most recently in Greece, where capital controls limited people’s ability to access their own assets. In an interview to AFP he reaffirmed that commitment, promising independence within 18 months or two years.
The pro-independence campaign was delivered a further blow on Tuesday when European Commissioner Jean Claude Juncker said that the territory of a member state of the European Union can not be altered by a unilateral declaration of an autonomous parliament, as would be the case with Catalonia.
But short of winning an outright majority, he said he could still hold a referendum if the new government that emerges from December’s Spanish general election changes Madrid’s stance. He told Reuters a unilateral split from Spain was unstoppable unless the government granted the region a binding referendum on the issue.
He said he did not want to make threats, but felt compelled to defend himself against a “campaign of intimidation” by opponents trying to “influence the vote”. In the event that no decision is made, “we will have no obligation to pay Spanish debt.” If successful, the leader promised Catalonia would take its share of Spain’s financial debt.
“If things get as complicated as that-and there is no reason why they should-it is the whole of Spain that will have a problem”.
Opinion polls suggest that pro-independence parties, including the one fronted by Mas, will win a majority of seats in the regional assembly but fall short of a majority of the vote, a result likely to prolong the stalemate between the region and Madrid.
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Mas also raised the pressure on Spain in the tense build-up to Sunday’s vote, warning Spain risks plunging into a debt crisis like Greece’s if it refuses to negotiate a secession agreement in the event of a nationalist victory.
