In our trips across the country of Spain we have experienced different cultures, each a product of Spain's diverse history and system of autonomous communities. In our studies we have looked into the causes of such intense regional identity, such as language, culture, geography, and even food. In Granada we experienced a culture that combined the rich in the history of a powerful Moorish Caliphate and the triumph of the Catholic Kings, Ferdinand and Isabella, to become very pro-Spain In Barcelona, we witnessed a booming metropolis with a powerful economy and devotion to industry. The regional pride of the Catalans runs deep. The residents prefer to speak in Catalan, and feel more allegiance to the Community flag rather than the flag of Spain. There is no doubt that a profound rift exists between the different people's of Spain. Even in casual conversation with our Spanish friends Poncho (from Cordoba), we can not mention anything about Barcelona or Catalonia without him getting profoundly upset and angry.
But my question is not what this rift means for Spain, but rather what it means for the E.U. as a whole. Should a powerful Province such as Catalonia be pushing for independence when is holds so much control over national politics? Maybe they should first look at the implications of a federalized system. Would the people from Barcelona benefit on the European stage from independence? or will the community fizzle into nonexistence without the support of a central government in Madrid? If not, will the stronger independent communities use their industrial capacity to become (more) legitimate players in European politics? Regardless, the actions of Catalonia will be closely monitored in the coming months and years, and the final outcome will certainly set a political precedent.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BElS3enEO5s&NR=1
ReplyDeleteCatalonia is one of, if not the, richest autonomous community in Spain. It also has the metropolis of Barcelona to support it economically with tourism and industry. No doubt that the people of Catalonia would set up a central government in Barcelona to support themselves. Therefore, I believe it could support itself separate from Spain (but I don't support this idea). Without knowing how much power Spain's central government has over the profits of Catalonia, it is safe to say that Spain benefits more from having Catalonia as a part of their state. However, would the EU benefit from Catalonia being its own country? I foresee something similar to the Turkey/Cyprus debacle: Spain would probably not recognize Catalonia as a separate state and there would inevitably be problems among other member states over this issue. I'm sure the EU would allow Catalonia to be a member of the economic community because of its wealth, but would other member states have problems with accession? I don't know, but it's a possibility if it came down to that. If this were about the Basque country--I bet that the EU would not allow accession because of ETA, so the Basque country would be on its own if it got independence from Spain.
ReplyDeleteI agree that since Catalonia is a wealthy state it has the potential to form its own economically stable nation. However I believe this would be a terrible event to occur in the EU. The EU has enough problems when dealing with the identities of its citizens. Countless survey's have been published that we looked at in class showing the differences between peoples in various nations. If Catalonia were to succeed, what is to stop small nations from doing the same. There are other countries in the EU that have small nations that would wish to be their own countries. Perhaps these places have not been as vocal as the Basques and Catalonia in Spain but I can all but guarantee they exist. Catalonia needs to remain a part of Spain for countless reasons, but for the sake of the EU Catalonia must remain part of the country.
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