“A move from unilateralism to deliberation suggests negotiation. So, if last week’s pardons counts as a concession by the Spanish executive, what will the Generalitat have to concede in return?” asks a Barcelona-based commentator of the pardon of nine leading Catalan politicians.
Catalonia
Solidarity in a neutral Scotland
‘So perhaps Scotland can respond to world events by providing something that Ponsatí and the legions of others in the world today repressed by their own states so desperately need: a place of sanctuary for the ever greater number of persecuted that only a small neutral state can offer.’
Is that the Scottish Parliament in Barcelona?
When you come across the Scottish Parliament in the centre of Barcelona…was it just the market designed by Enric Miralles, or a miracle that could change the course of Brexit? Robert Sharp inspired by a tweet embarks on a whimsical adventure.
Clara Ponsati and Scottish justice
‘By examining this application under the EAW very carefully, the Scottish courts would be protecting justice in Scotland and Europe from the arbitrary misuse of law by dark forces which threaten not just democratic politics in Spain, but also the continued survival of the EAW itself’.
Secession and sovereignty: Catalonia, Scotland…
‘A real-world illustration would be that of Northern Ireland or Scotland seeking to secede from the UK following Brexit. When the UK exits the EU, it will drag the two regions (which both voted to remain) out of the EU. That will greatly affect the Scottish and north Irish economies and their international relations…’
Rethinking the right to self-determination
‘EU member states are still divided on the recognition of Kosovo. The time may have come for some better European international principles about who has the right to self-determination and how’.
What Catalonia can learn from Scotland
‘If many Scots retain a certain ambivalence towards the British monarchy, they have not rebelled against it nor do they have any plans to declare any unilateral declaration of independence’.
High price of crushing Catalonian indy dreams
‘In the weeks and months to come, the crisis could lead to the fall of the Spanish government, and the Catalonian one at that. The dream of an imminent independent Catalan state has been shattered for now, but those Catalans who support independence are now more alienated from Spain than ever’.