According to a legal report recently created by Antoni Abad, a Stanford University professor, Catalonia would remain in the EU were it to become independent from Spain. This would be possible because of the principle of “internal extension.”
This report was presented earlier today as part of a conference in Barcelona organized by the Cercle d’Estudis Sobiranistes and the entity Horizonte Europa: Catalonia, ¿Independent State inside the EU? Ernest Benach, the Leader of Parliament, was in charge of inaugurating the conference.
The report claims that there are “legal and political reasons” that support the concept of “internal extension” of a community when its physical territory lies within the EU. It also claims that neither Catalonia nor other territories inside Spain, or even other European states, such as Scotland, would have to request being admitted as new members of the EU. They would only have to be recognized in the new status.
In this report, legal and political reasons are mentioned and applied for the interpretation of the European Union Treaties, and in that sense, it shows that in a “succession of states,” political matters take precedence over legal realities, and not the other way around.
However, the author admits that the EU has no rules that regulate the internal succession, causing a “legal gap” and also triggering the “customary rules of international rights.”
In this framework, the report defines as legal channels articles 34 and 35 of the 1978 Vienna agreement. In the case of Catalonia, it states that “the two or more new states resulting from the actual Spanish kingdom would immediately occupy the predecessor’s place.”
As a consequence, Mr. Abad explains that Catalonia would not be be ejected from the EU were it to become independent. Furthermore, it would continue being a member of the EU automatically. This is also true of any other territory within the EU.
After mentioning the “acquired fundamental individual rights” of EU citizens, the report states that “denying a satisfactory solution for an internal extension process” would affect “rights and duties” derived from belonging to the EU and the Internal European Market.
The report suggests various ways to “facilitate the path towards the internal extension,” such as preparing the “Catalan state founding documents”—a declaration of independence, a constitution, and the exposition to the European court of arbitration.
The European Court of Arbitration would be responsible to determine “duties, rights, and proportional sharing amongst different territorial entities that come out from the actual Spanish kingdom and the representation inside the EU government agencies,” such as the EU Council, the European Commission and the European Parliament.
Such personalities as the former Scottish minister Linda Fabiani, Alfons Lopez Tena, MEP Izaskun Bilbao (PNV), Oriol Junqueras (ERC), Ramon Tremosa (CiU) and Raül Romeva (ICV) attended Mr. Abad's conference.
¨Things you should know about the silent war the Kingdom of Spain is waging against the Catalan people¨
This title is pure bullshit. A silent war Spain is waging against the Catalan People?
Is that how you want to convince the world? With crap and lies like that?
You will not only gain any support from Europe, the States or any other international power, but you will lose any internal support from Catalans themselves.
You, Catalan nationalists are like Serbian nationalists, willing to destroy everything with lies and manipulation.
Spain does not have any problem with Catalans, nor Catalans with Spain. Should you recall how many Catalans are the heads of the Spanish government (Minister of Defense, Sports Secretary of State, National Energy Institue...) and other top national institutions, how many Catalans are proud to be part of the Spanish nationals teams, and how Catalonia has the greatest autonomy in Europe, ruling their own language, schools, health and police.
The only ones who have become THE problem are people like you, who are decided to promote hatred between Catalans and Spaniards. The only ones who are waging a war are Catalan nationalists against democratic Spain and therefore against the whole democratic World.
With regards to our professor in our beloved Stanford University, he is already known for his biased articles. Nobody listens to him, and people is tired of his manipulated views.
We do not want Catalan nationalism in Stanford!
You would never understand. There are different points of view inside Spain! Anyway, we appreciate your comments.
Did you read the articles in the blog? Because, as you say, the title is very bold, but that's why there are so many articles: to prove the case.
The economic plundering of 10% of the Catalan GDP (Catalonia is lowering its budged to an unprecedented level in Europe of 10% lower, affecting health and education among others, although Catalonia would become one of the richest countries if it were independent, as said by many important economists); the fact that Spain changed or removed many important articles of the new Catalan statute of autonomy already aproved by the Catalans in referendum, with a sentence from the Constitutional Court that "fixes" what the Catalans voted for themeselves. saying that Catalonia is not a nation, repeating over and over the "unity of Spain" and limiting laws for the normalization of the Catalan language that had been in place for many years, among others; that the celebration of any referendum is forbidden without the explicit approval of the Spanish government; that the last surveys show that the YES would win with 60% of votes if a referendum about Catalan independence was called now; these are but some of the proves that Spain is not respecting the true will and rights of the Catalans, which is something that has been happening since it lost independence in 1714.
The Catalan Autonomy is better than not having it and is the result of many years of efforts and sufferings, including dictatorships, cultural genocides, and concentration camps.
Then again, what is being nationalist? Are you saying that being nationalist is defending that all the nations and peoples in the world have right to self-determination, are equal and should interact in foot of equality, in a friendly way and respecting international solidarity -as the Charter of the United Nations and many other international convenants state-? I would say that the contrary is nationalism: making one nation stand above the other and stopping peoples from usign these human rights. This is the silent war.
I expected more from a Oxford student. It's an obvious fallacy to critisize this professor instead of critizise the points he makes in the letter, which might or not be true no matter who wrote them.
Let readers decide by themeselves if there is a silent war or not.
And thank God Catalans have different points of view! That is normal in a mature democratic country. But then again, the vote of the majority should be respected. 60% of votes would be positive in a referendum, but that's not all: the Catalan goverment has always been nationalist. The Parliament has many times stated that Catalonia has the right of self-determination and that the Parliament is the seat of its sovereignty. How is that being respected?