Catalonia and European Integration: A regionalist strategy for nationalist objectives Ruth Elisa Roller Thesis submitted for the PhD Degree in Government at The London School of Economics and Political Science University of London London United Kingdom October 1999 UMI Number: U142935 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Dissertation Publishing UMI U142935 Published by ProQuest LLC 2014. Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 h+£S£S F 7S07 Stoned 7^ 0/62 Abstract This thesis examines the strategy employed by the Catalan nationalist movement in the late 1980s and 1990s to secure a greater role for sub-national authorities in the process of European integration. It includes an analysis of the relationship of the Generalitat, the government of the Spanish autonomous community of Catalonia, and particularly, Convergencia i Unio, the centre-right Catalan party in power since 1980, with the various actors and institutions central to the process of European integration. Thus, the Catalan nationalist movement has pursued a dual strategy to consolidate its participation in the process of European integration based on the one hand on a co-operative regionalist strategy and on the other, a bilateral nationalist strategy. A close examination of this dual strategy would suggest that there is a clear disenchantment among Catalan nationalists with the concept of "Europe of the Regions" and with the EU-wide efforts in the 1990s to secure a greater role for sub-national authorities. 2 Table of Contents ABSTRACT.............................................................................................................................................. 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS........................................................................................................................3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS....................................................................................................................5 ABBREVIATIONS................................................................................................................................. 6 CHAPTER 1 ............................................................................................................................................. 8 CHAPTER 2 ........................................................................................................................................... 28 CHAPTER 3 ........................................................................................................................................... 61 CHAPTER 4 ......................................................................................................................................... 107 CHAPTER 5 ......................................................................................................................................... 138 CHAPTER 6......................................................................................................................................... 171 CHAPTER 7......................................................................................................................................... 191 CHAPTER 8......................................................................................................................................... 224 APPENDIX 1......................................................................................................................................... 241 APPENDIX n .......................................................................................................................................244 APPENDIX III......................................................................................................................................246 BIBLIOGRAPHY............................................................................................................................... 251 To my mother 4 Acknowledgements I would like to thank my supervisor, Dr Sebastian Balfour for all of his guidance and patience during my time at the London School of Economics. I would also like to thank colleagues and friends who gave me helpful comments on my research. I would particularly like to thank Katharine Adeney and Heidi Ullrich for their support during these last few years as friends and fellow PhD students. Funding from SOCRATES and EUSSIRF, especially through the library at the European University Institute in Florence, Italy contributed substantially to my field work and research. Finally, I am indebted to the support I received from my family and am deeply grateful. London October 1999 5 Abbreviations AER Association of European Regions BNG Bloque Nacionalista Galego (Galician Nationalist Block) CCAA Comunidades Autonomas (Autonomous Communities) CDC Convergencia Democratica de Catalunya (Democratic Convergence of Catalonia) CEMR Council of European Municipalities and Regions CiU Convergencia i Unio (Convergence and Union) CoR Committee of the Regions DG Directorate-General EA Eusko Alkartasuna EC European Community ECJ European Court of Justice ECOFIN Economic and Financial Committee EE Euskadiko Esquerra EFA European Free Alliance EMU Economic and Monetary Union EP European Parliament ERC Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya (Republican Left of Catalonia) ERDF European Regional Development Fund ESF European Social Fund EU European Union FEOGA-O Fons Europeu d ’Orientacio i Garantia Agricola-Seccio Orientacio (European Orientation and Guidance Fund for Agriculture) IGC Intergovernmental Conference IRPF Impuesto sobre la Renta de las Personas Fisicas (Income Tax) MEP Member of the European Parliament PI Partit per la Independencia (Party for Independence) PNV Partido Nacionalista Vasco (Basque Nationalist Party) PP Partido Popular (Popular Party) PSC Partit dels Socialistes de Catalunya (Socialist Party of Catalonia) 6 PSOE Partido Socialista Obrero Espanol (Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party) PSUC Partit Socialista Unijicat de Catalunya (Unifed Socialist Party of Catalonia) SNP Scottish Nationalist Party UDC Unio Democratica de Catalunya (Democratic Union of Catalonia) UM Unio Mallorquina (Mallorcan Union) 7 Chapter 1 Introduction and Chapter Summary Introduction This thesis examines the strategy employed by the Catalan nationalist movement to secure a greater role for itself and other sub-national authorities in the process of European integration. It includes an analysis of the relationship of the Generalitat, the government of the Spanish autonomous community of Catalonia, and particularly, Convergencia i Unio, the centre-right Catalan party in power since 1980, with the various actors and institutions central to the process of European integration. The purpose of this thesis is to generate a deeper understanding of the changing role of sub-national authorities within the process of European integration by presenting the case study of Catalonia. The motivations behind these efforts vary and this thesis will argue that the Catalan nationalist movement has developed its own unique strategy to fulfil a series of objectives: a) to enhance its own influence in the EU decision-making process both at the domestic and European levels; b) to secure a greater role for sub- national authorities in EU institutions; c) to encourage a non-territorial form of international recognition of Catalonia as a state-less nation; and d) to push forward a transformation of the structure and functions of the state. The primary process under scrutiny in this thesis will be the regionalisation of Europe and the emergence of a European polity characterised by a hybrid of relationships across various tiers of governance. The thesis would elucidate one salient but not universal feature of this process - the role played by nationalist movements. Within the historical, cultural, and political background of its hard- won autonomous status at the domestic level, Catalonia seeks to exert an independent influence on policy making in the EU and by extension this contributes to the continued process of regionalisation within the EU. 8 The thesis is expected to be valuable to any reader interested in the regionalisation of European politics and the particular case of Catalonia, as well as the evolution of the nationalist movement in Catalonia. The Catalan case is significant in the sense that the reader will be able to gain a greater understanding of one aspect of the complex process of European integration. The thesis will question pre­ conceived notions about the role of sub-national authorities in the process of European integration. By presenting an analysis of the Catalan case, the thesis will shed light on the relevance of the Catalan case to the regional question in Europe and specifically, that of devolution. Devolution has become a more public issue in the late 1990s with, for example, possible constitutional reform in Britain and the creation of a Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly. Furthermore, as the process of European integration deepens and increasingly affects citizens’ day to day lives, the