Now the cat really is amongst the pigeons as Artur Mas, the president of the Spanish region of Catalonia, has signed a decree calling for a referendum on independence.
Artur Mas wants Catalonia – which includes Barcelona, has a population of 7.5 mln, and is one of Spain’s richest and most highly industrialised regions – to hold a Scottish-style vote on 9 November, but does not have the backing of the central government who’s PM Mariano Rajoy has said he will block any referendum
Mas has previously insisted though that that the pro-independence movement would prevail, even if it faces stiff opposition, and was further inspired by the recent Scottish referendum despite a No vote in the end.
If they think in Madrid that by using legal frameworks they can stop the will of the Catalan people, they are wrong
Rajoy and the Spanish government believe any vote would be illegal and had already called for a meeting on Monday to discuss the situation but will now hold an emergency cabinet meeting this afternoonand is likely to take the dispute to the country’s Constitutional Court. However Mas says he can use local laws to hold a vote in a matter of weeks.
What do our Spanish/Catalan readers make of it all ? Do let us know
Regarding impact on the euro we all know that markets hate uncertainty and this isn’t going to help especially as Spain tries to claw its way back from the abysss
BBC reporting more here
Reuters has a good read here on the background to the story and suggests a referendum would rip Spain apart.
Cat amongst the pigeons as Catalonia announces referendum for Nov 9
