“Spain and Catalonia simply have different priorities”, Elizabeth Castro, chairwoman of the global Committee in the Catalan National Assembly, told Anandolu Agency.
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Political tension in Spain peaks this week in the countdown to a vote in Catalonia that could lead the region to declare independence, potentially breaking up one of Europe’s oldest countries.
Pilar Rahola, a columnist with daily Catalan newspaper La Vanguardia who backs independence, said scaremongering “does not work when a society has achieved maturity”.
Rajoy said Catalan parties against independence should try to reach agreement to form a government.
Mas has reported than a separatist considerable number of not less than 68 vehicle seats among the 135-member Catalan parliament is truly the minimum amount were required to create a “road guide” to effectively secession inside 18 several months.
European Commissioner Jean Claude Juncker said that the territory of a member state of the European Union cannot be altered by a decision of an autonomous parliament.
“I am very skeptical that a new Spanish government could offer a deal to Catalonia on holding a referendum”, said Mas, leader of the liberal nationalist Democratic Convergence of Catalonia.
Artur Mas, the leader of the separatist Convergence and Union alliance and current president of Catalonia, said Monday that Linde was acting like a politician.
Catalonia, a region of 7.5 million people which accounts for a fifth of Spain’s economic output, has its own language which was suppressed during General Francisco Franco 1939-75 dictatorship.
On Friday the banking associations AEB and CECA joined the fray, warning in a statement of “risks to financial stability” that would force them to “reconsider” their presence in Catalonia, which would cause a shortage of credit.
A referendum was called for November 9, 2014 but it was suspended.
But the battle is also being fought on the ground, with Rajoy’s Popular Party (PP) canvassing in Catalonia, a region where it is largely unwelcome.
Euro commemorative coins of the “Catalan Republic” are displayed in a philately and numismatics shop in Barcelona, Spain.
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So, this week, politicians on all sides will continue to clash over the future and the past, while voters ponder over what could be the most important vote of their lives.
