The Economy of Catalonia

also be confronted with the paradox of the emergence of new States, which
obviously become independent with respect to other States, but which are
increasingly less so as regards the market. That is, they may indeed have instruments
of State, but these instruments are less and less effective.
This leads me to a first clarification: any reflection on the instruments of
State to which Catalonia can aspire should be set against this backdrop. On
the one hand, Catalonia needs instruments of State (let us put it like that)
to design policies that are in the interests of Catalan society, for it is an observed
and verifiable fact that the centralised, radial, Madrid-based model
promoted by Spain (in its old obsession with adding economic power to
political power) is not the model that suits Catalonia. But, on the other
hand, in many areas we will only have authentic instruments of State if we
share them with Europe, that is, if we move resolutely towards European
political integration and the creation of a real European government.
Second remark: On the referendum
We are talking about instruments of State, and yet we have not yet decided
if we want to be a State. It may indeed be appropriate to discuss this. It
never hurts to enlighten ourselves about our future, and to help citizens to
make their decisions with the greatest freedom and knowledge of the consequences
of the various options. But we must be aware that right now the
immediate objective (not the most important for many people, but the
most immediate) is not independence but holding a referendum in which
the citizens of Catalonia can have their say about the link with Spain.
Staging a referendum is a hugely difficult and complex matter. But it is
the goal from which the Catalan institutions derive their greatest strength,
the goal for which there are precedents that confer great authority (Scotland
and Quebec), and for which support within Catalan society is
strongest, most transversal and widespread. And above all, the very fact
of holding the referendum implies the recognition of Catalonia as a political
reality, the recognition of the sovereignty of the people of Catalonia
to decide their future. So even if – hypothetically - a referendum
were not on independence (if the question were not «independence, yes
or no»), and if it did not mean immediate accession to independence, it
would signify something at least as important: the acceptance of the
«right to be independent».
32 Economia de Catalunya