EU calls for dialogue in Catalonia but backs Rajoy in independence dispute
The European Commission has sided with Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy in the fallout related to Catalonia's tumultuous independence referendum, backing his claim that the vote was illegal but also calling for dialogue between Madrid and Barcelona.
Officials in Catalonia have declared the right to secede from Spain after Sunday’s highly charged referendum where a large majority voted for independence but police use of batons and rubber bullets left more than 800 people injured.
According to the officials in charge of the independence vote for the region, which had been declared illegal by Madrid's constitutional court, over 90% of those who voted opted to separate from Spain.
"Under Spanish constitution, vote in Catalonia was not legal," a statement from the EU's executive branch said.
"Beyond purely legal aspects: the Commission believes that these are times for unity and stability, not divisiveness and fragmentation...We call on all relevant players to now move very swiftly from confrontation to dialogue. Violence can never be an instrument in politics."
With security forces drafted in by Madrid from all over Spain in an attempt to disrupt the poll, police fired rubber bullets and used their batons against many of those taking part across the region, where polling took place among peaceful protest marches. The official number of injured has risen to 844, with a raft of videos published online showing women and elderly people were among those attacked with police batons, some in polling stations themselves.
Rajoy defended the actions of the government, and denied that any vote had taken place on Sunday.
"Today, we have not had a referendum for self-determination in Catalonia,” Rajoy said in a televised address overnight.
"Today, all the Spaniards have seen that our state rule of law keeps its strength and reality, and restricts those who wish to subvert the state of law, and acts with all the legal resources, vis a vis all provocations, and does it with efficacy and in a serene way."
'HOPE AND SUFFERING'
Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont said the results of Sunday’s referendum would be passed to the regional parliament for it to make a formal declaration.
“On this day of hope and suffering, Catalan citizens have earned the right to have an independent state,” Puigdemont said.
The political uncertainty caused by the fallout from the referendum is unlikely to halt soon, as Barcelona and Madrid continue to debate the legality of the vote.
According to Berenberg analyst Holger Schmieding, Catalonia does not have the means by which to enforce independence, which will lead to further talks between its leaders and Rajoy’s government.
“If Barcelona declares unilateral independence, the practical consequences would likely remain limited despite a lot of noise including strikes and mass protests,” Schmieding said.
“Catalonia would not have the means, including the fiscal means, to enforce a full independence. Problems would abound soon: who collects which taxes, who controls the regional police etc. At some point in time, Barcelona and Madrid will need to talk.”
IBEX SUFFERS
European markets opened mostly higher on Monday morning despite the tensions in Catalonia, as the Spanish Ibex 35 was the only one to open lower, by 0.78%.
Spanish government bonds were under pressure with analysts at Rabobank pointing to the yield on Spain's 10-year bonds widening to around 5.0 basis points compared to Germany, referencing the violent crackdown by Madrid as the catalyst for this move.
The result of the vote was not a big shock, Rabobank said: "What was unexpected, though, was the violence used in an attempt to suppress the vote. Catalan officials estimate that more than 800 people were injured in clashes with the police during the referendum.
"This violence, in turn, stands to have an important bearing both on how the issue of Catalan independence now unfolds and on political risk in Spain more broadly."
The analysts suggested the police violence will enflame tensions and so make it much harder for Madrid to achieve a political solution, could tarnish the image of the central government and, by the same token, galvanise support for the secessionist cause, and is likely to complicate policy-making at a national level "as opposition parties seek to gain political capital from what is arguably a gross PR error on the part of PM Rajoy’s govt not just as regards the citizens of Catalonia but those in Spain more broadly many of whom are likely to have been dismayed by the footage of yesterday’s police violence".
#Catalonia Presid.@KRLS dennounces human rights violations by Spain police against Catalan voters. Judge by yourself:pic.twitter.com/mOYk605AXt
— David d'Enterria *X (@denterd) October 1, 2017
Spain's National Police brutalize voters in Catalonia polling center (a school) today in an attempt to suppress #CatalanReferendum vote. pic.twitter.com/jh4xA8u8Bb
— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) October 1, 2017