Catalonia
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BARCELONA/MADRID, Oct 4 (Reuters) - Catalonia will move on Monday to declare independence from Spain after holding a banned referendum, pushing the European Union nation towards a rupture that threatens the foundations of its young democracy.
Catalan President Carles Puigdemont said he favoured mediation to find a way out of the crisis but that Spain's central government had rejected this. Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's government responded by calling on Catalonia to "return to the path of law" first before any negotiations.
Surely Puigdemont has no mandate whatsoever to "declare independence"? Clearly he is pro-independence but most polling shows the populace split close to 50/50 with maybe a slight advantage to the remainer/respainers?
The "referendum" was a sham. Poorly handled by central government doesn't help.
FT (Financial Times) reporting some of the big banks are moving out of Catalonia already.
The second-largest bank based in Catalonia has decided to move its legal headquarters out of the region as Catalan separatists and the Spanish authorities hurtle towards a showdown on Monday over the region’s push for independence.
The decision on Thursday by Banco de Sabadell to move its headquarters to the eastern Spanish town of Alicante came at the same time that CaixaBank, the biggest bank in the region and the country’s third largest, also considered redomiciling outside Catalonia.
Seems like a hot mess.
Infidel is in Barcelona tonight and tomorrow, all very quiet from what I have seen.
Rancid Schnitzel agrees. No problem with self determination but there are laws and processes that have to be followed. You can't just ram through a vote like this. There are wide-ranging implications for all Spaniards, not just the Catalans. Could be wrong, but it seems to me that they're concerned that if they went through the proper process they wouldn't get a majority. That is understandable when looking at Scotland and Quebec, but still illegal.
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European countries with economy smaller than Catalonia
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So, on the same day Catalonia declares independence and the Spanish parliament approves direct rule over the province.
This is looking more and more dangerous.
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Barcelona city hall right now removing Spanish and EU flags. Shit is about to get really-real.