Referendum on the political future of Catalonia 2014
The referendum on the political future of Catalonia in 2014 was a vote on the political future of the region on November 9, 2014, officially called the “citizen participation process” by the Catalan regional government .
First, in September 2014, the regional government set a formal referendum for this day by decree. The citizens of Catalonia should be asked the following question in the referendum: “Do you want Catalonia to become a state?” Whoever answers this question with “yes” should answer a second question, namely: “Do you want this one State is independent? ”The survey should be consultative, so it should not have any direct legal effects. Such a formal referendum did not take place, however, because the decree was suspended due to a judicial review application submitted to the Constitutional Court by the Spanish government .
Instead, the regional government initiated the public participation process with an “alternative vote”, also on November 9, 2014, without any legal basis, in which the same ballot papers were used. On November 9, 2014, according to the regional government, around a third of those entitled to vote took part in the vote. Of these, around 80% voted for the region to be independent from Spain (so they answered “yes” to both questions). In the Spanish-language press, the term consulta soberanista or simply 9-N (for November 9th) was predominantly used for voting .
Catalonia as an autonomous community in Spain
Since 1979 the region of Catalonia has had the status of an autonomous community in Spain. The autonomous communities are comparable to the German federal states in terms of their competencies and they also have extensive legislative powers. However, formally they are not member states , as Spain is not a federal state . The political institutions of Catalonia are grouped under the traditional name Generalitat de Catalunya and include the regional parliament ( Parlament de Catalunya ), the Prime Minister elected by this ( President de la Generalitat ) and the government ( Govern ) formed by this .
2006 Statute of Autonomy and Constitutional Court judgment
In 2006 a new statute of autonomy came into force for the region of Catalonia . The Statutes of Autonomy are the “constitutions” of the Autonomous Communities; they are particularly important for the distribution of competences between the Spanish state and the regions. The adoption and amendment of the Statute of Autonomy requires the approval of both the respective regional parliament and the Spanish parliament and, in the case of Catalonia, the subsequent approval in a referendum in the region.
In the referendum of June 18, 2006, 73.9% of voters (with a turnout of 49%) voted in favor of the new statute. The text was only confirmed by the Spanish parliament after some serious changes. After being signed by King Juan Carlos I , the law came into force on August 9, 2006.
Against the new Statute of Autonomy, the conservative PP submitted a norm review motion in which it questioned the constitutionality of 114 of the 223 articles of the law. The judgment of the Constitutional Court was only pronounced on June 28, 2010 after a four-year trial. In this, however, the court declared only 14 provisions of the Statute of Autonomy to be unconstitutional and determined for 27 others how they were to be interpreted according to the constitution, and rejected the application in its other points. Nevertheless, it has been heavily criticized by large parts of public opinion in Catalonia.
Developments in the IX. Legislative period of the regional parliament (2010–2012)
In November 2010 a new regional parliament was elected in Catalonia, and a minority government of the Catalan bourgeois CiU under Artur Mas replaced the left-wing coalition of PSC , ERC and ICV - EUiA , which had been in power since 2003 .
Due to the economic and financial crisis, the differences between the Spanish government and the government of Catalonia came to a head during this legislative period, especially after the conservative PP with Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy replaced the social democratic PSOE in government in Madrid in December 2011 . Rajoy refused to enter into negotiations about a special financial status for Catalonia (similar to that of the Basque Country and Navarre ; see financial relations between the state and the autonomous communities ).
On September 11, 2012, the national holiday of Catalonia , a demonstration of the independence movement took place in Barcelona under the motto “Catalunya nou Estat d'Europa” (“Catalonia, a new European state”). The influx significantly exceeded expectations. The number of participants (depending on the source) was between 600,000 and 2 million (i.e. between 8 and 25% of the region's total population). The next day, Prime Minister Artur Mas made an official statement that the time had come to provide Catalonia with “state structures”.
In the general debate on his government's policy on September 25, 2012, Mas announced in the regional parliament that new elections would be scheduled for November 25, 2012. He justified this with the extraordinary situation that arose with the mass demonstration of September 11th and the refusal of the Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy ( PP ) to enter into negotiations on the pacto fiscal . In this debate, the regional parliament adopted a resolution with 84 votes (CiU, ICV , EUiA , ERC and two Catalan nationalist groups and a member of the PSC ), 21 against (PP and Ciutadans ) and 25 abstentions (the remaining MPs of the PSC) which says:
"El Parlament de Catalunya constata la necessitat que el poble de Catalunya pugui determinar lliurement i democràticament el seu futur col·lectiu i insta el govern a fer una consulta prioritàriament dins la pròxima legislatura."
"The Parliament of Catalonia recognizes the need for the people of Catalonia to decide freely and democratically about their collective future, and calls on the government to hold a referendum on this, preferably in the next legislative period."
According to the prehistory, the election campaign was strongly influenced by the topic of Catalonia's future relationship with Spain: The ERC openly advocated independence from Spain, while the CiU avoided the use of the term “independence” in its election manifesto, but of its “own” State “ spoke within the framework of the European Union . The PSC, on the other hand, advocated remaining with Spain and transforming it into a federal state , while the PP wanted to keep the current autonomy regulations.
After the election , the Catalan regional parliament will be composed as follows:
- Parties that voted for the resolution in September 2012: CiU 50 MPs (−12); ERC 21 MPs (+11); ICV-EUiA 13 MPs (+3); Added to this is the left-wing alternative Catalan CUP that has recently entered parliament, which supports the referendum and independence of Catalonia, with 3 members
- the PSC, which abstained in September 2012, with 20 MPs (−8)
- Parties that voted against the resolution in September 2012: PP 19 MPs (+1) and Ciutadans (Cs) 9 MPs (+6)
Developments in the 10th legislative period of the regional parliament (2012-2013)
After the election, the Catalan bourgeois CiU and the left-wing Catalan ERC entered into negotiations on a tolerance agreement. In this, they agreed to initiate a process which, if possible, should lead to a referendum in 2014 on whether Catalonia should become a “state within a European framework”. Artur Mas was then re-elected Prime Minister of a CiU minority government with the votes of the ERC.
On January 23, 2013, the regional parliament passed a resolution in which, among other things, a. means that "for reasons of democratic legitimacy the people of Catalonia have the character of a sovereign political and legal subject" and in which the decision to hold a referendum was reaffirmed. The resolution was adopted with 85 votes (CiU, ERC, ICV-EUiA and one MP from the CUP), 41 MPs (15 from the PSC, 17 from the PP and the 9 MPs from Ciutadans) voted against. Two CUP MPs abstained. Two MPs from the PP were absent due to illness, and five MPs from the PSC did not take part in the vote to protest against their party's line.
In February 2013, the regional government commissioned the Institut d'Estudis Autonòmics , which is located there, to prepare an opinion on the legal possibilities of organizing a referendum, which was presented on March 11, 2013. In addition, the regional government created the Consell Assessor per a la Transició Nacional in March 2013 . The task of this body is to provide legal and political advice to the regional government on the path of “national transition” and the “exercise of the right to self-determination” through the referendum.
On December 12, 2013, Artur Mas announced together with representatives of the CiU, ERC, ICV-EUiA and CUP parties that the referendum would be held on November 9, 2014. The question should be: "Do you want Catalonia to become a state?" Whoever answers this question with "yes" should also answer a second question, namely: "Do you want this state to be independent?"
At the level of Spain as a whole, the central government in Madrid declared the conservative PP but also the social democratic opposition of the PSOE (sister party of the PSC) to reject such a referendum, which made it questionable whether it would actually be carried out.
Legal ways to hold the referendum
The report of the Institut d'Estudis Autonòmics of March 11, 2013 describes five possible ways of organizing and holding the referendum:
- Held on the basis of the Catalan “Law on Referendum Public Polls”. A judicial review procedure is pending before the Constitutional Court against this law. However, the court lifted the initial provisional suspension of the law so that it is currently in effect and in force (unless the court decides otherwise). However, even under this law, holding a referendum requires the prior approval of the central government in Madrid, which is currently not expected.
- Held on the basis of Article 92 of the Spanish Constitution. According to this constitutional provision, “political decisions of particular importance” can be subjected to a consultative referendum. The initiative to hold a referendum in this way would, however, have to come from the central government and then be approved by the Spanish parliament. Neither is to be expected. In addition, Article 92 of the Constitution provides that the decision is subject to a consultative referendum “of all citizens”, which is why it is constitutionally disputed whether it allows a referendum to be held in only one region (and not in all of Spain).
- Transfer of responsibility for organizing and holding a referendum from the state to the region on the basis of Article 150 of the Spanish Constitution. This provision enables the Spanish state to transfer the exercise of competences to which it is entitled to individual Autonomous Communities by law. This solution would have the advantage that constitutional competence problems per se could not arise. The draft of such a transfer law can also be introduced by the Catalan regional parliament, however, due to the majority situation in the Spanish parliament, it was not to be expected that it would also be passed by it or even accepted for further discussion. This path was initially taken (see below).
- Constitutional amendment that explicitly provides for referendums to be held at regional level. This solution would also solve problems related to competence law. Even so, however, it is not to be expected that such a constitutional amendment would find the necessary majority in the Spanish parliament.
- Held on the basis of a Catalan “law on non-referendal referendums and citizen participation”. The draft of such a law was in the legislative process when the opinion was drawn up in the Catalan Parliament. He did not envisage any kind of involvement of the central state in the process of arranging and holding a “non-referendum referendum”. This was the only one of the five ways in which the Catalan institutions had the process completely in their own hands. This path was taken after the path through Art. 150 of the Constitution initially failed (see below).
In addition to the question of the legal way in which a referendum in the region of Catalonia could be arranged, the further question arises whether the concrete question intended by the parties would then also be constitutionally permissible, since in Article 2 of the Spanish constitution “the indissoluble Unity of the Spanish Nation ”is postulated.
Preparation and course of the survey (2014)
Failed attempt on article 150 of the constitution
On January 16, 2014, the Catalan Parliament decided to take the route through Article 150 of the Spanish Constitution. It decided to introduce a corresponding bill to the Spanish parliament. Thereafter, this should give the region of Catalonia the authority to “approve, plan and carry out a consultative referendum in which the Catalans declare themselves about the collective political future of Catalonia”.
The bill was passed with 87 votes (CiU, ERC, ICV-EUiA and three MPs from the PSC). 43 MPs (PP, Ciutadans and 16 of the PSC) voted against. The three deputies of the CUP abstained (the CUP also supports the referendum, but is of the opinion that Madrid does not need to be involved). A member of the PSC had resigned his seat the day before the vote in protest against the party line, and his seat had not yet been filled again, and a member of the PP was absent due to illness.
The draft law did not contain a specific question that was to be presented to the citizens in this referendum. Rather, it should be held on the basis of the conditions that would still have to be agreed with the central government in Madrid (which also includes the specific question). A specific date for the holding was not provided in the draft law, but that it should take place in 2014 and not fall on a day of high political symbolism. B. the Spanish (October 12th) and the Catalan national holidays (September 11th) were out of the question.
On April 8, 2014, as expected, the Spanish Chamber of Deputies rejected the Catalan Parliament's draft law to transfer the power to hold a referendum with 299 votes (PP, PSOE, PSC, UPyD , UPN and Foro Asturias ) against 47 votes ( IU , CiU , ICV-EUiA, CHA , PNV , BNG , ERC, Geroa Bai, Amaiur , Compromís-Q) with one abstention ( CC ). The way to reach a referendum via Article 150 of the Constitution has therefore failed. Artur Mas then announced that he would seek or create other legal options for organizing the intended referendum.
Judgment of the Constitutional Court of March 25, 2014
In a judgment of March 25, 2014, the Spanish Constitutional Court declared the resolution passed by the Catalan Parliament on January 23, 2013 to be unconstitutional and null and void inasmuch as it speaks of Catalonia as a “sovereign political and legal subject”. The judgment also states
- that under the constitution, an autonomous community cannot unilaterally call a self-determination referendum to decide whether it belongs to Spain.
Law on non-referendum referendums and public participation
After the failure of the attempt to arrive at a legal basis for holding the referendum through Article 150 of the Constitution, the path chosen was the passing of the "Law on Non-Referendial Public Polls and Citizens' Participation", which allows central government and parliament to participate does not provide for when organizing and holding a “non-referendum referendum”.
The constitutional background to this creation of the legal figure of a “non-referendial referendum” ( consulta popular no referendaria ) is, inter alia, Article 149, Paragraph 1, No. 32 of the Spanish Constitution. According to this, the approval of the convening of referendums is by way of a referendum ( autorización para la convocatoria de consultas populares por vía de referéndum ) a competence exclusively reserved to the central state. The holding of a referendum therefore requires the participation of Madrid, while the wording of the regulation suggests that there are other types of referendum to which this does not apply .
The law was passed by the regional parliament on September 19, 2014 with 106 votes (CiU, ERC, PSC, ICV-EUiA, CUP) against 28 votes (PP, Ciutadans). The PSC voted in favor of the law, but is of the opinion that the intended “non-referendum referendum” on the political future of the region cannot be based on this law.
The law entered into force on September 27, 2014 when it was published in the Diari Oficial de la Generalitat de Catalunya gazette .
With the law itself, the intended referendum on the political future of Catalonia is not scheduled, but only regulates the legal figure of the “non-referendum referendum”.
Scheduling of the referendum
After its entry into force, on September 27, 2014, the Catalan Prime Minister, based on this law, scheduled the “non-referendum referendum” with the specifically formulated voting question for November 9, 2014 by decree.
With a publicity campaign by the Generalitat under the catchphrase Tú Decides ("You decide"), participation in the intended referendum on November 9, 2014 was advertised.
Suspension by the Constitutional Court
The Spanish government decided on September 29, 2014 to immediately submit a judicial review application to the Constitutional Court, both against the law and against the decree organizing the referendum.
The Constitutional Court accepted these applications for decision on the same day. With the acceptance of the motions for a decision, the law and the decree according to the Spanish Constitution are automatically suspended. The Constitutional Court must decide within five months whether the provisional suspension of the law and the decree will be maintained or lifted until the final judgment.
The Constitutional Court has in the further proceedings u. a. to decide whether the “non-referendum referendum” created by the law, despite this designation, is still a “referendum” under constitutional law.
Reaction of the Generalitat and its supporters to the suspension
The website of the Tú Decides publicity campaign remained online, but on the front page it received a reference to the suspension by the Constitutional Court and that the site would not be updated due to this suspension. No television commercials for the campaign were broadcast.
On October 1, 2014, despite the suspension, the Catalan Parliament elected the seven members of the Comissió de Control , which is a kind of supreme election committee for the referendum. a. should be responsible for determining the voting result. The parliamentarians of the PSC, the PP and Ciutadans did not take part in the election because they considered it incompatible with the suspension.
On October 3, 2014, representatives of the political forces supporting the referendum met for a seven-hour meeting to discuss how to proceed. As a result, it was announced that the referendum would be held on November 9, 2014. However, it was not communicated which concrete steps should follow.
On October 4, 2014, the TV commercial for the Generalitat's publicity campaign was broadcast again on regional television. It starts like the original one, but then stops after a few seconds and a black screen appears stating that the campaign has been suspended due to the challenge by the government, but that the regional government is taking legal and political initiatives to “the Exercise of the right to decide on the political future of Catalonia ”.
Cancellation of the formal referendum and announcement of an alternative survey
Since the constitutional court's enforcement of the decree on organizing the referendum also expressly extended to all actions serving to prepare for the referendum, there was a risk that members of the regional government, as well as ordinary civil servants, would be liable to prosecution for continuing to pursue the preparatory measures for disregarding a court decision could do.
In mid-October 2014, the suspension of the referendum continued and it became clear that the deadlines stipulated in the law for the individual procedural steps (drawing up the electoral roll, determining the polling stations, etc.) could no longer be adhered to.
On October 13, 2014, there was another meeting of those in favor of the referendum. At the end of this, it became known that the formal referendum scheduled for November 9, 2014 would not be pursued by the regional government.
On October 14, 2014, Prime Minister Mas announced in a press conference that there would be voting booths, ballot papers and ballot boxes on November 9, 2014. An alternative way of holding a survey will be sought. He did not say what legal basis he wanted to rely on for this. There will also be no formal scheduling of the survey, since such an administrative act is an administrative act that can be challenged by the central government. The regional government will have the voting facilities ready and the voting will be organized with the help of "20,000 volunteers". This alternative type of referendum could only be a “pre-vote”. The final vote can now only take place through a new election of the regional parliament, to which the parties in favor of the independence of the region compete with a common list and a common program, i.e. an election with a plebiscite character.
Suspension of the alternative questioning by the Constitutional Court and adherence to it by the regional government
On October 31, 2014, the Spanish government also filed a constitutional complaint against the planned alternative questioning. In the absence of a specific legal rule that can be challenged, the subject of the action is described as follows: “The activities of the Generalidad de Cataluña in relation to the appeal to the Catalans and the people living in Catalonia, their opinion on the political future of Catalonia on November 9th in one so-called «process of citizen participation», as it is described on the website http://www.participa2014.cat/es/index.html to express “.
The Constitutional Court also accepted this complaint for a decision on November 4, 2014 and accordingly ordered the suspension of the “citizen participation process” or the referendum.
The spokesman for the Catalan regional government announced after the decision was made public that the alternative questioning would still be retained. This does not constitute a violation of the decision, because "since October 14th we have not been doing what the Spanish government believes we are doing".
Alternative survey procedure and procedure on November 9th
Before November 9, 2014, voting notifications were not sent to those entitled to vote, nor were electoral registers created, as the use of the data would have violated data protection law due to the lack of a legal basis for voting.
The electorate could call up the voting location responsible for them via the Internet or inquire by telephone. The Generalitat announced that there were a total of 6,430 voting halls in 941 parishes. Only six municipalities did not have their own voting room.
In order to be able to vote, the voter had to present his identity card. His data (name and ID card number) were then entered in a numbered electoral roll and recorded in a computer, which should avoid multiple votes. Before voting, the voter - unlike in elections - had to sign behind his entry in the electoral roll, thereby declaring his consent to the collection of the data.
The voting halls were open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., as is customary in elections in Spain.
Anyone over the age of 16, regardless of their nationality, whose ID showed an address in Catalonia, was eligible to participate. Voting was also possible in 17 voting centers abroad. In order to enable people who were unable to participate on November 9, 2014, voting in the seven district administrations of the Generalitat should still be possible between November 10 and 25, 2014.
Since the Spanish government did not take any concrete steps to prevent the vote despite the suspension by the Constitutional Court, it took place on November 9, 2014. The stand-by judge in Barcelona dismissed several urgent requests made on November 9th (among others by the UPyD ) to stop the voting by closing the voting booths. The vote went without major incidents.
Participation and preliminary result
According to the regional government, 2,305,290 people took part in the vote on November 9, 2014. Because there was no electoral roll, participation cannot be determined precisely, only estimated using other statistical data. The media assume that around a third of those entitled to vote took part.
The regional government announced the result as follows: 1,861,753 votes (80.76%) with a “yes” to both questions (ie for independence), 232,182 votes (10.07%) with “yes” to the first and “No” to the second question, 22,466 votes (0.97%) with “Yes” to the first and no answer to the second question, 104,772 votes (4.54%) with “No” to the first question, 12,986 blank ballot papers (0.56%) and 71,131 “other” (3.09%). As it was a citizen participation process, it was not tied to the questions and answers on the ballot, so any expression of opinion was allowed. Such ballot papers were grouped under “other”.
Positions of the political parties
The parties represented in the regional parliament of Catalonia take the following positions on the political future of Catalonia and the referendum:
- CiU : It is a party association made up of the two independent, bourgeois parties CDC (liberal) and UDC (Christian-democratic). Both parties support the referendum. The CDC is campaigning for a “yes” to both questions. The UDC, on the other hand, recommended that its members answer “yes” to the first question and not made a recommendation for the second question.
- ERC : The left-wing Catalan party supports the referendum and the independence of Catalonia as a member state of the EU. In the long term, the ERC would like a nationwide Catalan state consisting of the autonomous communities of Catalonia, Valencia and the Balearic Islands , parts of the autonomous community of Aragon ( Franja de Aragón ) and northern Catalonia in southern France (Pan-Catalanism).
- PSC : It is the Catalan sister party of the Spanish social democratic PSOE. The official party line is to support a referendum, as long as it is within the framework of the Spanish constitution and an agreement is reached with the central government in Madrid to hold it. In terms of content, the party is in favor of a federal solution . However, there is also a “Catalan” sector in the party that advocates independence.
- PP : The Catalan regional association of all-Spanish conservative PP rejects a referendum and advocates maintaining the status quo . In some cases, however, the region is called for improved financial resources.
- ICV - EUiA : The ICV is a Catalan eco-socialist party, the EUiA the regional association of the Spanish left-wing party IU . Both parties have been running for elections together for a long time and form a common parliamentary group. They advocate Catalonia's right to self-determination and the referendum. As for the political future of Catalonia, views range from a federal solution to independence. There is no official party line on this issue.
- Ciutadans (C's): This group sees itself as a non-Catalan nationalist center-left party. She rejects Catalonia's right to self-determination and a referendum, and supports the current Spanish state model of the autonomous communities. However, this should be "concluded" by defining the boundaries of competencies.
- CUP : This anti-capitalist Catalan party advocates the referendum and - like the ERC - the independence of an all-Catalan state. This should not be a member of the EU, which is rejected in its current form as an instrument of big business.
European Union
The European Union had already announced in 2013 that an independent Catalan state would no longer be part of the EU.
Legal aftermath
At the end of November 2014, the public prosecutor opened proceedings against Artur Mas in connection with the conduct of the referendum. His deputy Joana Ortega and the minister of education Irene Rigau were also charged with disobedience, perversion of the law, presumption of office and embezzlement of public funds. The trial began in early February 2017. On March 13, 2017, the Supreme Court of Catalonia sentenced Mas to a fine of 36,500 euros and was banned from holding political office for a period of two years. He immediately announced that he would go to the Spanish Supreme Court and, if necessary, to the European Court of Justice , as he had little confidence in the judicial system in his home country. Mas' co-defendants were also sentenced to fines and political bans: Ortega to 30,000 euros and 21 months, Rigau to 24,000 euros and 18 months.
literature
- Krystyna Schreiber : The Translation of Independence. How the Catalans explain it, how we understand it . Verlag Fabian Hille, Dresden 2015, ISBN 978-3-939025-60-3
See also
Web links
- Catalonia Votes
- Website of the Tú Decides publicity campaign
- Generalitat website for alternative voting
Individual evidence
- ^ Resolució 742 / IX del Parlament de Catalunya, sobre l'orientació política general del Govern. (PDF; 699 kB) Parliament of Catalonia, October 2, 2012, accessed on November 14, 2012 (Catalan).
- ↑ Arranca la campaña con el debate soberanista como eje central. In: El País. Retrieved November 9, 2012 (Spanish).
- ↑ Resolució 5 / X del Parlament de Catalunya, per la qual s'aprova la Declaració de sobirania i del dret a decidir del poble de Catalunya. (PDF) Parliament of Catalonia, archived from the original on September 24, 2015 ; Retrieved January 6, 2014 (Catalan).
- ↑ Informe sobre los procedimientos legales a través de los que los ciudadanos y las ciudadanas de Catalunya pueden ser consultados sobre su futuro político colectivo. (PDF) Generalitat de Catalunya - Institut d'Estudis Autonòmics, archived from the original on January 6, 2014 ; Retrieved January 6, 2014 (Spanish).
- ↑ Resolució 479 / X del Parlament de Catalunya, per la qual s'acorda de presentar a la Mesa del Congrés dels Diputats la Proposició de llei orgànica de delegació a la Generalitat de Catalunya de la competència per a autoritzar, convocar i celebrar un referèndum sobre el futur polític de Catalunya. (PDF) Parliament of Catalonia, accessed January 17, 2014 (Catalan).
- ^ Judgment of the Constitutional Court of March 25, 2014 (Spanish). (PDF) Retrieved March 27, 2014 .
- ↑ Llei de Consultes populars no referendàries i Participació Ciutadana. (PDF) Diari Oficial de la Generalitat de Catalunya, archived from the original on September 19, 2017 ; Retrieved September 27, 2014 (Catalan).
- ↑ Decret 129/2014, de 27 de setembre, de vonvocatòria de la consulta popular no referendària sobre el futur polític de Catalunya. (PDF) Diari Oficial de la Generalitat de Catalunya, archived from the original on October 9, 2017 ; Retrieved September 29, 2014 (Catalan).
- ↑ Announcement on the acceptance of the norm review application against the law for decision. (PDF) Boletín Oficial del Estado, accessed September 30, 2014 (Spanish).
- ↑ Notice of acceptance of the appeal against the decree for decision. (PDF) Boletín Oficial del Estado, accessed September 30, 2014 (Spanish).
- ↑ estaticos.elperiodico.com
- ↑ Order of the Constitutional Court of November 4, 2014. (PDF) Constitutional Court, accessed on November 4, 2014 (Spanish).
- ^ El Govern mantiene el 9N y demanda al Gobierno central ante el Tribunal Supremo. In: La Vanguardia. November 4, 2014, Retrieved November 5, 2014 (Spanish).
- ↑ [1]
- ↑ "Brussels says an independent Catalonia would need to leave EU" euractiv.com from September 16, 2013, viewed on October 20, 2013
- ^ Ralf Streck: Spain is criminalizing Catalonia's head of government. Telepolis, November 22, 2014, accessed March 13, 2017.
- ↑ Julia Macher: Ex-Prime Minister for referendum in court. Deutschlandfunk, February 6, 2017, accessed on March 13, 2017.
- ↑ Catalan ex-president Artur Mas barred from holding public office. The Guardian, March 13, 2017, accessed the same day.
