The Economy of Catalonia

closed, one by one, with the unanimity of the member States in each
case and involve customs union; free movement of goods, persons and
capital; common rules, Community policies, etc. (Granell, 1995).
No matter how closely Catalonia already complies with the European regulations
as a part of Spain, an admission negotiation would be unavoidable
because it would be necessary to establish, in the chapters relating to the
European institutions, the weight that the new State entering the EU
would have in them. That is to say, it would be necessary to establish such
aspects as the number of members in the European Parliament according
to population, voting rights in the Council, the inclusion of Catalan as an
official language, Catalonia’s share in the capital of the European Investment
Bank, etc. Catalonia would also have to negotiate its inclusion in the
respective bodies and mechanisms in order to participate fully in the Community
decision-making processes, choosing national representatives who
are well prepared for participation in the Community structures.
It is obvious that many of the chapters into which the possible negotiation
for Catalonia’s accession to the EU would be divided, would be easy to
negotiate, since Catalonia complies fully with the European standards and
rules as a Spanish European region. The EU, however, would have to
make sure that, in the cases in which the European rules take the form of
Directives that are to be implemented in each country, and that have been
implemented in Madrid up to now, the respective technical bodies capable
of doing so exist in Catalonia.
Other technical aspects for which negotiation is also inevitable relate to
corresponding bodies in Catalonia for certain controls of the Community
standards which are carried out at present by Madrid, and to bodies
authorised for mutual assistance between governments, etc.
The Treaty on accession could not include repeals of the European Acquis
but the acceding country may request time frames and transitory
periods to adapt itself to European rules or to establish the mechanisms
and bodies necessary to implement EU rules.
The technical problems are not unsolvable but the big question is political:
would the present EU member States accept, with the unanimity
required for these cases, the start of negotiations on accession with Catalonia
in order to enter the technical phase of these negotiations?
This issue would not only affect a possible negotiation on accession as a
full member of the EU but even a second-level negotiation to participate
In or out of the European Union 63