All eyes are on Catalonia to see whether the region’s leader and its parliament could declare a unilateral declaration of independence when it meets on Tuesday afternoon.
Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont is set to address the regional parliament in Barcelona at 5:00 p.m. London time and speculation is mounting that he could declare independence, despite increasing political and economic pressure being placed on the wealthy northeastern region of Spain.
Puigdemont has been threatened with arrest if he does declare independence, as he has previously said he would do once all the results from the symbolic referendum vote, held a week ago on Sunday, were counted and the results presented to parliament. This assembly was meant to take place on Monday but Spain’s Constitutional Court suspended the session.
The potential risks of such a move are great with political and economic isolation a big threat to the prosperous region. A number of high-profile businesses and banks Caixabank and Sabadell have said they would relocate their headquarters out of Catalonia, fearing that any declaration of independence would leave the region isolated, outside of both Spain and the European Union.
In addition, hundreds of thousands of anti-independence protesters marched through Barcelona at the weekend, showing strong support for remaining a part of Spain. Meanwhile on Monday, France said it would not recognize an independent Catalonia and Germany has stressed its support for Spanish unity, adding to criticism of the separatists from other European leaders.
For its part, the EU has said an independent Catalonia would find itself outside the economic and political bloc and has so far declined to mediate in the dispute.
