I read if Catalonia were to proclaim independence unilaterally in the next few days without the approbation of Madrid, Catalonia would not automatically become a member of the European Union. The logic is that if it splits from a member state of the EU, it would need to re-apply for EU membership, and that probably wouldn't be possible if the Spanish government opposes it.
This, however, does not make any sense. What if the country were to split in two, like Czechoslovakia? Which part would automatically stay in the EU then? The largest? Both? Neither? The one hosting the capital? The EU actually does not have any rule about this kind of situation. What if a much larger part of Spain were to join Catalonia. It could be the Baleares and the Community of Valencia, which are all Catalan-speaking. But they could also add Navarre and Aragon and thus create a new country that matches the former Kingdom of Navarre, which comprised all eastern Spain, and existed co-jointly within the Kingdom of Spain from 1492 until 1841, when the Act for the Modification of Fueros made a single kingdom of all Spain.
Spain came into existence as a country by the union of the Kingdom of Castille & Leon with the Kingdom of Navarre (and Aragon), which were themselves unions of two medieval kingdoms. If the modern state were to split along those lines, what part of Spain would still have the right to be called Spain, and would any of them have automatically become members of the EU?
Personally, I think that any EU state that is split into smaller states should automatically stay in the EU. Or else, all the new parts should re-apply. It would be extremely unfair to favour one part over another.
In this case, Catalonia was already an autonomous region (i.e. a state) with its own government and laws. The independence is a smaller step than devolution of power from the central government which took place in 1978. Besides, Catalonia has the largest GRP (gross regional product) within Spain, representing 18.5% of the Spanish GDP. An independent Catalonia would have a higher GDP than Greece or the Czech Republic. It is a big enough chunk of Spain to say that after independence, the rest of the country cannot be called Spain anymore, just like the United Kingdom would cease to exist if Scotland (which is proportionally smaller in terms of GDP of population) declared independence.
If Madrid refuses to grant EU membership to Catalonia, perhaps it would be useful for Catalans to join up with the Basque country, Navarre (which both have higher GDP per capita than Catalonia), as well as Aragon, Valencia and the Baleares to form a Spanish Republic or a Republic of Eastern Spain that is big enough to force the EU to treat both western and eastern entities on equal grounds in terms of EU membership.
If those six regions united, they would have a population of over 15 million (against 25 million for the rest of Spain) and a GDP of 553 billions (against 855 for the rest). Three regions would be Catalan speaking and two Basque speaking. The last region, Aragon, traditionally speaks Aragonese (although mostly in the north today), which is an Occitano-Romance language like Catalan, and not an Ibero-Romance like (Castillan) Spanish, Leonese, Galician and Portuguese.
This, however, does not make any sense. What if the country were to split in two, like Czechoslovakia? Which part would automatically stay in the EU then? The largest? Both? Neither? The one hosting the capital? The EU actually does not have any rule about this kind of situation. What if a much larger part of Spain were to join Catalonia. It could be the Baleares and the Community of Valencia, which are all Catalan-speaking. But they could also add Navarre and Aragon and thus create a new country that matches the former Kingdom of Navarre, which comprised all eastern Spain, and existed co-jointly within the Kingdom of Spain from 1492 until 1841, when the Act for the Modification of Fueros made a single kingdom of all Spain.
Spain came into existence as a country by the union of the Kingdom of Castille & Leon with the Kingdom of Navarre (and Aragon), which were themselves unions of two medieval kingdoms. If the modern state were to split along those lines, what part of Spain would still have the right to be called Spain, and would any of them have automatically become members of the EU?
Personally, I think that any EU state that is split into smaller states should automatically stay in the EU. Or else, all the new parts should re-apply. It would be extremely unfair to favour one part over another.
In this case, Catalonia was already an autonomous region (i.e. a state) with its own government and laws. The independence is a smaller step than devolution of power from the central government which took place in 1978. Besides, Catalonia has the largest GRP (gross regional product) within Spain, representing 18.5% of the Spanish GDP. An independent Catalonia would have a higher GDP than Greece or the Czech Republic. It is a big enough chunk of Spain to say that after independence, the rest of the country cannot be called Spain anymore, just like the United Kingdom would cease to exist if Scotland (which is proportionally smaller in terms of GDP of population) declared independence.
If Madrid refuses to grant EU membership to Catalonia, perhaps it would be useful for Catalans to join up with the Basque country, Navarre (which both have higher GDP per capita than Catalonia), as well as Aragon, Valencia and the Baleares to form a Spanish Republic or a Republic of Eastern Spain that is big enough to force the EU to treat both western and eastern entities on equal grounds in terms of EU membership.
If those six regions united, they would have a population of over 15 million (against 25 million for the rest of Spain) and a GDP of 553 billions (against 855 for the rest). Three regions would be Catalan speaking and two Basque speaking. The last region, Aragon, traditionally speaks Aragonese (although mostly in the north today), which is an Occitano-Romance language like Catalan, and not an Ibero-Romance like (Castillan) Spanish, Leonese, Galician and Portuguese.