Topic: Catalan independence: What if separatists win? (Read 460 times)

If the Catalans actually manage to gain independence, they will be a part of the European Union, Schengen Zone and the Eurozone (just like the case if Scotland becomes independent). Also, Catalonia is situated in the Western part of Europe, and not in the East. Anyway, the chances of a separatist war are next to none. Both the sides have no interest in waging a war.

It's obvious that current government in Spain will not allow Catalan to become independent, even they don't allow Catalan to have referendum on Independence.
So, if separatist win in Catalan again, it will prolong the political instability in Spain for the longer term.
I don't think that Catalan will have real chance to separate from Spain in the near future, in a next 5-10 years.

If catalonia will split with spain. Will they stay in european union and in euro zone? Or they will become completely independent? Separatist war in western europe would be a disaster.

That will depend upon the reaction from the Spanish Central government. Don't misunderstand me, as I don't think that the Spaniards will sent tanks and artillery to Barcelona to exterminate the Catalans, as happened in Eastern Ukraine. But Spain will never agree to a possible Catalan independence. If Catalonia becomes independent, then a large part of the Spanish GDP will be lost.

With voters heading for the poll in referendum, what would a victory mean for breakaway region and rest of Spain?

If his separatist party wins a majority of the seats on Sunday, the Catalan president, Artur Mas, has vowed to lead a transitional government that would begin the process of creating an independent state, with a mandate to declare independence by 2017.

Lasting no longer than 18 months, his government would be guided by the steps outlined in the Junts pel Sí party’s 125-page electoral programme. The first would be a declaration, made within days of taking office, proclaiming the beginning of the process to break away from Spain.

From there, Mas said his priority would be to sit down with Madrid and the European institutions “to talk and to negotiate and to reach agreements”. The focus of the talks will be on addressing issues such as the management of shared borders, the energy grid and the Ebro river basin.

If Madrid refuses talks with the region, Mas said that Catalonia could retaliate by walking away from its share of the public debt, accounting for roughly a third of Spain’s total debt.

Mas’s government also plans to begin drafting a constitution for Catalonia, hoping to draw on citizen participation to inform its content.

The creation of state structures will also begin – from a diplomatic service to a central bank – to be ready in time for the proclamation of a new Catalan state. “We have some state structures right now,” Mas said during the campaign, pointing to the region’s public healthcare, education and police service. “But we lack others.”

Plans for the first of these new state structures, a regional tax agency modelled on that of Sweden and Australia, was halted by Spain’s constitutional court earlier this month after the court agreed to hear a challenge lodged by the central government in Madrid.

Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/27/catalan-independence-what-if-separatists-win