The Catalan Republic

The Catalan Republic, also known as Catalonia, is a unilaterally declared state in the Iberian peninsula since 27 October 2017. The Parliament of Catalonia declared independence from Spain amid a constitutional crisis over the result of the 2017 Catalan independence referendum.

Shortly after the Catalan parliament declared independence from Spain, the Spanish Senate triggered Article 155 of the Spanish Constitution of 1978, and Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy dissolved the Parliament of Catalonia, dismissing the Executive Council of Catalonia and calling a snap regional election for 21 December 2017. In response, Carles Puigdemont, President of the Catalan, stated that only parliaments could elect or remove governments in a democratic society and asked Catalans to "democratically oppose" the enforcement of Article 155, but he did not clarify what his response would be to the Spanish government's orders.

As of 28 October 2017, the Catalan Republic is unrecognized by the international community, which regards the region as part of the Kingdom of Spain.

2017 Political Crisis

An independence referendum, which was suspended by the Constitutional Court of Spain after the Spanish government stated it was unconstitutional, was held in Catalonia on 1 October 2017. The referendum question, to which voters answered with a "Yes" or "No", was "Do you want Catalonia to become an independent state in the form of a republic?". The "Yes" side won, with 2,044,038 (92.01%) voting for independence and 177,547 (7.99%) voting against, albeit on a registered turnout of 43.03% and amid questions about compliance with basic voting regulations.

In an ambiguous speech during a parliamentary session in the Parliament of Catalonia on 10 October, Puigdemont declared that "Catalonia had earned the right to be an independent state" and that he defended "the mandate of the people of Catalonia to become an independent republic". However, he immediately announced that parliament should suspend a formal declaration of independence in order to pursue dialogue with the Spanish government. Puigdemont and other pro-independence deputies then signed a symbolic declaration of independence with no legal effect. On 11 October, after an extraordinary cabinet meeting intended to address the events on the previous day, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy announced he was formally requiring the Catalan government to confirm whether it had declared independence before 16 October at 10 am, with a further three-day deadline until 19 October to revoke all deemed illegal acts if an affirmative answer—or no answer at all—was obtained. This requirement was a formal requisite needed to trigger article 155 of the Spanish Constitution, a so-called "nuclear option" that would allow the Spanish government to suspend Catalonia's political autonomy and impose direct rule from Madrid. Pressure mounted within the pro-independence coalition as the CUP demanded an unambiguous affirmation of Catalan independence, threatening to withdraw its parliamentary support from Puigdemont's government if he rescinded his independence claim. In his formal response to Rajoy's requirement hurrying the initial five-day deadline, Puigdemont failed to clarify whether independence had been declared and instead called for negotiations over the following two months. The Spanish government replied that this was not a valid response to its requirement and doubted that Puigdemont's offer for dialogue was sincere due to his lack of "clarity". The refusal from the Catalan government to either confirm or deny independence triggered a second deadline for them to backtrack before direct rule was imposed.

On 19 October, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy confirmed that the Spanish government would trigger Article 155 and move to suspend Catalonia's autonomy after a cabinet meeting scheduled for 21 October, following a letter from Puigdemont in which he said that the independence declaration remained suspended but that the Catalan parliament could choose to vote on it if Spain continued its "repression". Subsequently, Rajoy announced the Spanish government would take direct control over the Generalitat of Catalonia, proceeding to remove Puigdemont and the entire Catalan government from their offices and call a regional election within six months, pending Senate approval.

On 26–27 October 2017, a debate over a possible declaration of independence was held in the Parliament of Catalonia, simultaneous to the Spanish Senate debating the enforcement of direct rule in Catalonia through the invoking of Article 155 of the Spanish Constitution of 1978. At the end of the debate, the Catalan parliament voted in a secret ballot a unilateral declaration of independence which was backed 70–10, two MPs casting a blank ballot, with all MPs from Citizens, the Socialists' Party of Catalonia and the People's Party boycotting a vote considered illegal by the lawyers of the Parliament of Catalonia.

The General Council of the Val d'Aran, an autonomous region of Catalonia since 2015 (in similar terms as the autonomous community of Catalonia inside Spain), announced it would hold an extraordinary meeting on 30 October to evaluate the consequences of the independence declaration and decide as well if declaring or not their independence from Catalonia.

Institutional Reactions in Spain

In response, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy dissolved the Parliament of Catalonia, dismissed the Executive Council of Catalonia and called a snap regional election for 21 December 2017, after obtaining the Spanish Senate endorsement to the invoking of Article 155.

Soon after Rajoy's announcement, the director of the Mossos d'Esquadra, Catalonia's autonomous police force, sent a farewell letter that acknowledged his removal by the Spanish government. Major Josep Lluís Trapero also acknowlegded his sacking and asked Catalan police officers to remain "loyal" to his successor.

While some media outlets hinted that the Puigdemont-led Catalan government was not going to resist the Spanish takeover of the government of Catalonia, Puigdemont did not consider himself sacked, asserting that it is parliaments "who elect or remove governments", and asked Catalans to "democratically oppose" the enforcement of Article 155. He, however, did not clarify whether he would acknowledge or refuse the Spanish government's orders.

European Union Membership

As a region of Spain, the autonomous community of Catalonia is also part of the European Union (EU), eurozone, and Schengen Area. Prior to the declaration, there was debate as to whether an independent Catalonia would retain membership in the EU and associated international arrangements, or would, upon independence, find itself outside of these arrangements. The secession of part of a member nation is not specifically addressed in the EU's treaties, though legal opinions have been offered both in the case of Catalonia and during the debate around the 2014 Scottish independence referendum. The "Prodi doctrine" followed by the European Commission states that a seceding state would exit the EU and would have to apply for membership as an external nation.

President of the European Council Donald Tusk stated that the independence declaration "changed nothing" and that the European Union would only deal with the Spanish government, while also urging Spain to use "force of argument, not argument of force.”

                            https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalan_Republic_(2017)