The roadmap to independence

Twenty three thematic assemblies and strategic discussions on the future status Catalan are the skeleton of the meeting by the Popular Unity today is the Broad Institute 's Badalona and involved a thousand people. 

To this day , the organizers want to draw up a roadmap for independence shared by social movements , institutions and organizations with transformative and disruptive ; define the foundations of a new model of society we want , and what structures which model the social, economic cultural and would like to be discussed in the creation of a new state , as articulated struggles analyze the institutional counter and fight . 

' With the support of the CUP , the meeting was organized from a cridafet different figures and representatives from various social movements and trade unions, as Benedict Salellas , Eva Fernandez , Sergio Saladié Gabriela Sierra Xavi Sarria Julia de Jòdar , Marta Serra, Richard Vilaregut , Gerald and George Martin Pisarello Source . 

During the morning will be twenty assemblies on various issues related to territory , language , culture and social rights . At a quarter to two in the afternoon will present the ' rebel map of the Catalan Countries ' . After lunch it's time for strategic discussions between 16.00 and 20.00 on the roadmap to independence, the foundations of a new model of society and the articulation between fights . 

 Given the large number of entries , the organizers have planned that the debates can be followed live on the internet. In addition , the results of the discussions will be published later in the same site of the encounter .

Yes in a referendum consolidates above the 70%

Should such Catalonia held a referendum on independence, if we get 54.7 % of the vote , confirming itself as the preferred choice of the Catalans . Supporters are 22% , while the abstainers are below 16% . These data last barometer Opinion Research Center ( study PDF ) released yesterday. But as a referendum votes only count with data from CEOs and discounts abstentions , blank votes and undecided if they exceed the 71 % and not 29 % would not .

Given this distinction , in November 2012, 73.6 % would have voted yes to independence and 26.4 %, in February 2013, 72.6 % and 27.4% in June 2013 and a 70.4 % and 29.6 %.
The trend between it and did not stay for a year, the director of CEO , George Argelaguet , is attributed to the maturity of debate among citizens .
The evolution of yes and no in a referendum for independence is stable for more than a year. Those in favor of it are above 50% with peaks that reach 57 % in October 2012, after the first major manifestation of September Eleventh . In the third wave Barometer 2013 this support reaches 54.7 %. As for the not remains to 22.1 %. A lower percentage Argelaguet clarifies : " The referendum is called and no one knows exactly what would not question ." Two factors , he said, would help to further clarify the results of the question, although it is believed that there are any radical change .
Distribution suggests that most voters would support the ERC would be yes , that 94% would vote in favor of independence. 82% of the CUP and 81% of the CiU would also do the new independent state , in terms ICV , it would be the majority with 52.2 %, while 23% of ecosocialists vote no.
Among supporters , not PPS voters reject independence in 87% , the C 's by 84 % and 61% in the PSC . In the case of the PPC and the rest C 's refrain , but the PSC by 12.3% would vote yes .

The question of the ANC: 'Would you like Catalonia to be an independent state?'

National Secretariat of the ANC has published today the Declaration of November , his first solemn manifesto purely political concerns following the slowness of the process. The organization requires more precision and more courageous steps towards the exercise of self-determination and proposes , for example, a question for the consultation to be done , ' irrenunciablement ' , 2014 : ' Catalonia wants to be an independent state ? '

The statement read in Seva (Barcelona ), also considered ' inalienable ' that becomes a question about the political future of Catalonia in 2014 , preferably before 31 May 2014. In fact, believed to be called ' the moment when specifying the applicable legal framework . " With regard to the request of the Spanish parliament congress to organize the consultation, sercretariat says , ' can not be an excuse for delaying it . "

The declaration also calls for ANC unity among parties and decide in favor of the proposed law is made visible with a broad spectrum of socio-political candidacy "in the European elections on 25 May next , ' you may have the support of maximum number of political and popular movements ' .

The last point says that the ANC ' will closely follow the evolution of the situation and , if necessary, call for new protests guarantee the democratic right of citizens to be consulted . "

After reading the manifesto, the president of the organization, Carmen Forcadell insisted on some key points , such that " consultation is waived in 2014 ' and that the question should be clear and uniform , ' but should be on independence ' . He released : ' We hope that the parties and the institutions around them and demonstrate their commitment to giving a date and a clear question . '

' To move forward we have historical significance . To drive this country to demand political representatives and parties ' , he added : " The challenge before us , if only we will achieve together . We demonstrate courage and bravery . But we will succeed . '

The members of the Secretariat of the ANC who are considered ' essential moral authority ' to make a step forward and express their demands to the politicians . "We touch the scabs parties ' , said the sources consulted by the ANC VilaWeb before today's event Seva . The lack of understanding and exposure constant disagreements on key issues of sovereignty process ' are two of the issues that concern the organization , who believes that ' still prevails mass party interest above the interest of the country ' . ' It is also worrying - he said - the slowness with which the Lead lack of specificity in the steps required to exercise the right to decide . '

Need of Declaration of November

In a statement to announce the presentation of the Declaration of November at noon today Seva , the ANC explains his intentions : " Given the current political context , with the expectation that before the end of the in the announcement date and the question to ask the people of Catalonia and the European elections on 25 May on the horizon , the ANC considers necessary to disclose its stance on the challenges facing the country . '

I continued : ' In this sense, despite the feeling of uncertainty exists , the national secretariat will announce the Declaration of November , a seven-point document that transfers the calls that much of civil society and the almost two million Catalans who Via the Catalan part Eleventh of September last . '

Also show respect for each function : " While we respect the role that belongs to everyone , representatives of the ANC want to make it clear what the majority of Catalan society outcry regarding the consultation , the essential unit action between parties , institutions and civil society to address the process successfully , and European elections . '

The Catalan fiscal deficit and Sala-i-Martin on Russia Today

If independence, Catalonia win every year about 16,000 million. This is one of the conclusions of the article ' The dividend tax of independence ' , published last November by Xavier Sala-i- Martin , in the Wilson Initiative , which are also part Antràs Pol professors , Carles Boix , Jordi Gali , and Jaume Ventura Gerard Register . A few months ago the Catalan group The Project was summarized in a video outlining the arguments in this article. And now , the Spanish version of the Russia Today channel associated with the crisis and independence Catalan includes this video of The Project :

The presenter said the video and extracted the main figures , as 30% of the taxes paid Catalonia no end ever returning to the Principality , which translates into 16,000 million a year. And remember that the fiscal deficit of Catalonia suffers about Spain , which is 8 percent , the highest in the world. I figure compares with other cases, such as in Flanders , where it is 4.4% . At one point the program connects connects two economists .

Invite an economist associated with the FAES and Sala i MartínFirst, Angel de la Fuente , senior researcher of Institute of Economic Analysis and coauthor of the report of the FAES ' Tax Myth ', which is totally against independence and data provided by the video . And second , Xavier Sala -i-Martin explains that the data are perfectly transparent and that independence would be a solution to overcome the crisis both in Catalonia and to scare .

Junqeras threatens to "stop the Catalan economy" a week to press Spain

ERC threatens to drive a general strike if the government Spanish Catalonia does not reconsider its position and allows celebrate the query. " If we got to two million people to the streets ... who said we could not stop the Catalan economy for a week? " Oriol Junqueras raised in Brussels , at the end of a conference on the right to decide organized in Parliament European . "We also have our instruments ," warned Junqueras . The effects of a break in the Catalan economy would be felt throughout the state , he argues, and could affect the stability of financial markets .
" What is the impact on GDP Spanish ? What opinion have the Spanish debt creditors ? And what about the Spanish risk premium ? " Junqueras wondered at in his closing remarks . " All the institutions must decide whether the democratic principle prevails prevails performance or de facto by the state ," concluded the leader of ERC . During the conference , organized by the European Free Alliance parliamentary group to which they belong ERC , BNG and Aralar , among others , Junqueras has asked the EU to endorse the self inquiry from Catalunya claimed : " The Catalans are citizens of the EU and the EU needs to ensure respect for the democratic rights of its citizens. "
The right of self-determination has been in the twentieth century a " normal and customary law " that has been exercised , among others, by Western democracies as Norway, Ireland and Iceland , has argued . Republican leader has argued that it is legitimate referendum Catalans speak out regardless of what the Constitution says , because " no legal framework can coerce democracy." He warned that the state " can not prohibit indefinitely " the Catalans speak out , so eventually Catalonia will vote in a referendum first and parliamentary elections later or vice versa.

More successful balance in Israel excites the Spanish ambassador

With rabid Ambassador , Artur Mas took stock "successful " from his official trip to Israel before heading back to Barcelona . However, when they had finished the acts specified in the program, the Spanish ambassador , who repeatedly refused to comment to journalists and correspondents , sent a statement to the news agency EFE in Madrid to ridicule the president of the Generalitat .
" Our main challenge is to learn how Israel has managed to move the critical mass of knowledge generation to the supply chain of our country ," the president Mas. "We have research centers and highly relevant scientific basis , so now what it is to project the most , inside and outside Catalonia , applying the model of Israel."
In the four days of the trip, the president was accompanied by 30 Catalan companies technological and directors of major research centers that are self-financed the trip. They have signed five agreements with the four major universities in Israel , and also with the Israeli agency for research and development Matimop . With these agreements , the Government launched a program of scientific collaboration between the two countries with an investment of one million euros from each country.
At all visits the president was present Spanish Ambassador Fernando Carderera , and all any level meetings with Israeli counterparts Catalan representatives was a member of the Spanish embassy taking notes. Asked by the journalists , the ambassador declined to make public statements should not be considering taking a backseat to the president of the Generalitat , but privately told envoys and correspondents that " everything is going well as planned" . So did after the visit to the President of Israel , Shimon Peres , meeting at which at no time raised Mas concrete idea of ​​" statehood for Catalonia " as he admitted to reporters . " If you ask me , I say nothing ," reiterated the president .
Ambassador imposed the presence of the Spanish flag in the crown of the wreath at the Holocaust Museum and the president did not object Mas . Government sources reported that the president had been instructed to avoid at all costs any conflicting picture as that portagonizó Josep Lluís Carod -Rovira on the trip with the president Maragall . The thesis of the president of the Generalitat is based on " the most important thing is to give serious image " .
But even declared and publicly thank the collaboration of the Spanish Embassy in organizing the trip. When he finished the official program , the president said goodbye to the ambassador , that as he had to follow for a four-day marathon not hide his exhaustion : " You're under delivered." However, in the afternoon , the agency Efe , which barely covered the trip , issued a teletype dated Madrid, with a statement of clear intent derogatory ambassador : " With Peres spoke just five minutes ," said the ambassador. I left that Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia- Margalló that his department would "do everything possible" and would use " all available instruments " to prevent the sovereignist Catalan internationalized process . In fact, it happened after Mas trips to Russia and Brazil to Madrid pro-government media had not covered the trip proved disseminated information supplied false or distorted by the ministry.

Catalan surpassed the ten million people in 2012

The dissemination and advanced learning Catalan in 2012 despite a hostile environment and the Catalan language for the first time surpassed the ten million speakers . This is the main conclusion of the report prepared CRUSCAT network of the Institut d' Estudis Catalans, commissioned by Omnium Cultural institutions and Platform for the Language . The study was released Wednesday and it establishes that Catalan health worsens not only but " progress on the road to linguistic normality " . That means that in that year the numbers of speakers of Catalan increased to 10.1 million , representing 72% of the population of the Catalan language ( Catalan , Catalan-speaking area of the Valencian Community , Balearic Islands , Andorra , the French region of Pyrenees - Orientales and the eastern fringe of Aragon ) .

The report also notes that 12.8 million people claim to understand Catalan , which means 91.7% of the population, and 7.3 million say they can write it ( 52.6 % ) . The report notes , however , which remain " imbalances " between different areas studied .

According to Muriel Casals , President of Omnium Cultural , the report reveals that there are negative points are " obsessive result of a policy against Catalan". Casals has addressed deficiencies observed oral competition in Valencia and Alicante and has blamed certain policies of the Generalitat Valenciana .

The Report of the Catalan language situació , prepared for the sixth consecutive year in Europe also includes Catalan is a language that occupy the middle and sixteenth place of the languages ​​of the EU-27 as the number of speakers , and seventh position in terms of those who have it as a second or third language, according to the Eurobarometer 2012. He adds that in this geographical area has a strong attraction of new speakers , which ranked seventh .

'It is not lawful to stoke fear!' Article about Catalonia Bardo Fassbender in a Swiss newspaper

The Swiss newspaper Snow Zürcher Zeitung published an article by Bardo Fassbender , professor of international law, European law and public law at the University of St. Gallen (Switzerland ) on the process of independence of Catalonia . This paper outlines the consequences of Fassbender independence membership in the EU and analyzes the Spanish strategy to oppose the query. You 're invited excerpts :

' Before the end of 2014 , the Catalan regional government under President Artur Mas will hold a referendum on independence for the region , although the Spanish central government has rejected a referendum unconstitutional . Against the independence movement , however, has launched a compelling argument : an independent Catalonia would leave the EU " automatically ." A (re) inclusion in the Union, but , according to the EU treaties , should be agreed unanimously by all member states , including Spain , which certainly would refuse their consent , with disastrous economic consequences for the region. '' It is true that in the case of secession from Spain, Catalonia would not remain " automatically " in the EU. While Spain , despite the loss of territory and population , maintain their membership in the EU, Catalonia , despite its ancient condition of statehood until the eighteenth century , would , according to international law , a new state without binding contract with the EU. '' But Barroso incorrect positioning whereby Catalonia would be " any other state " at the time of joining the EU. Because the legislation set out in Article 49 of the Treaty on European Union ( TEU ) was written with a view to the accession of a third state "real" , that is, a state that until then had been outside the territory of the Union. 's ability to input a state that it was caused by the separation of a member state was not taken into account in the Treaty. Therefore , as in the case of the accession of Catalonia should take into account special circumstances , can only be taken as reference to Article 49 in that analogy . 'The EU legislation provides no basis for such sanctions as it does not prohibit secession. There is in any case on the separation of a territory of a member state , nor is silent on the question of an association of member states. Union " respects " safeguarding territorial integrity as a task of each member state , and in order to ensure the integrity of the outer Union itself . But it defends its citizens and peoples , each other , within existing state borders in the EU . '' Also European citizenship , which was introduced in 1992 in Maastricht , which dates back to the Treaty of economic freedoms and individual rights of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU, against the right to veto a unilateral commitment . Because the EU , as emphasized by the European Court in the judgment They Gender & Loos in 1963 , is a new legal international law "in the subject of law are not only Member States but also their individual " . Consequently, Community law confers on individuals rights which become part of their " legal heritage ." The Law of the European Union states that all people once they are carriers of these individual rights can keep them . '' It is incompatible with the " process of achieving ever closer union among the peoples of Europe" ( Preamble of the EU Treaty ) exclusion as punishment of a people who decide their independence through democratic procedures and constitutional . '' It is understandable that the EU institutions to support Spain as a member state in conflict with Catalonia . But we should expect that , if true independence of Catalonia , promote accession to the EU of the new country . Any other form of action could damage not only the goals and values ​​of the Union, but also lead , in view of the economic strength of Catalonia and its role as an investment destination and transit country , drawbacks for Member States of the EU. '

Junqueras disarms the 'moderate' in a debate on TVE

It seems that one of the strategies of those who are self-proclaimed 'moderate' process in relation to sovereignty is to sow doubts about the question to be decided by referendum on independence. To make clear the intentions of most sovereigntist, president of ERC Oriol Junqueras replied with three Twitter Status will this confusion. I made ​​it clear that ERC 'will not stand alone defending a clear question to answer explicit'. He also explained that grows together in his leadership and judgment that one who will be some old and new establishments'.

Besides these three Status, Junqueras participated in yesterday's debate Spanish Television and defended the right of self-determination for Catalonia and explained the reasons that lead to the majority of Catalans want independence.

ERC no està disposada a acceptar que la consulta no pregunti directament sobre la independència. El seu president, Oriol Junqueras, ho ha deixat ben clar aquest divendres a Navarcles durant una xerrada amb simpatitzants. 'Volem que quan parlem se'ns entengui. I si el que tenim davant és saber com convertim Catalunya en un país independent, la pregunta ha d'anar sobre la independència del nostre país', ha exclamat davant les cinc-centes persones que han omplert el teatre municipal. El líder republicà ha carregat directament contra les preguntes 'arbre', aquelles que inclouen diferents opcions de 'sí', i contra aquells grups que les defensen: 'ni arbres ni foscor. Volem que tothom ens entengui'.