European integration and a problem of separatism / case of Catalonia, the Basque Country and Galicia

2. Reasons behind separatist movements

2.1 Identity - Catalonia and the Basque Country

Identity, cultural and ethnical self-expression are often revealed to be the reasons for desire to break away from the central power and create a separate entity. Gurr (2007) believes that historical background, shared values, culture and language forms identity and brings about social division and affiliation to a particular ethnic group. Furthermore, identity becomes of an important concern when a certain group experiences inequality, restrictions and maltreatment by the dominant groups. Leaders of the separatist parties which represent these oppressed groups formulate their party platforms and policies promoting secessionism, autonomy and independence as a way to set up societal equality, obtain certain rights and freedoms. Regional separatist groups, parties and their leaders by the use of various local, national and transnational networks organize political action that can even be potentially encouraged by foreign state and non-state actors.

The role of identity and societal division based on the belonging to certain identities can be considered on the examples of the Basque, Catalan and Galician movements in Spain. For instance, the region of the Basque Country has its own language which is significantly different from the official language of the state. According to many linguists and scholars such as Macko (2011), the origins of the Basque language have unique roots and do not have relation to Spanish. Consequently, it is very likely that cultural and linguistic differences have always made the Basque region of Spain feel foreign and not have a sense of belonging to the country. Until the end of the 19^th century, the Basque Country possessed significant degree of power and could govern the area autonomously. However, the rule of Franco and his policies that promoted ethnocentrism and Spanish nationalism took on an authoritarian course of actions. Not only the autonomy of the region was withdrawn, the Basque language, culture and identity was highly oppressed and opposition was persecuted. Thus, the relations with the central authorities escalated to such an extent that the formation of a radical group Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA) gave rise to terrorist attacks against Spain, Spanish government and Spanish nation.

Similar cultural and linguistic differences, that caused societal resentment and dissatisfaction in the Basque Country, appeared in Catalonia. Franco and his dictatorship might have left an imprint on the Catalan region and its right to autonomy and self-expression. During the period of totalitarianism, the use of Catalan language was forbidden as well as any expression of the Catalan belonging. Due to this historical past, abuse and suppression, Bieri (2014) believes that preservation of identity, culture and language may be seen to be of particular concern and as a reason for the rise of the separatist sentiments in the minds of local people. After the Spanish transition to democracy, the Catalan government pursued goals of the locality while staying under the control of the central national legislation. However, Connolly (2013) provides evidence that national government restricted pro-Catalan legislation so that not to allow establishment of the Catalan nation and dominance of the Catalan language in the region. During the years of 2014-2015, the Spanish government proclaimed the referendum on Catalan independence to be illegitimate. In addition, the referendum was regarded to be unconstitutional because, prior to it, the constitution would have been changed and reformed in order for a referendum to take a legal status. According to Muro (2014), Spanish opposition to the Catalan independence distanced the Catalan people even more.

2.2 History - The Basque Country

Spain is the multinational country which has been dealing with the constant threats to its territorial integrity coming from not only from abroad but also from its own Spanish regions. Spain constitutes 17 autonomous communities and 2 autonomous cities in Africa.

The conflicts between the central authorities and the regions have frequently appeared in the course of the existence of the Spanish state. The roots of the Spanish separatist movements are rather complex and can be found in looking back to history. The Basque Country is one of the Spanish regions that has created many challenges to state integrity, security and peace (Prohorenko, 2012).

The primary differences that distinguished the Basques from the Spaniards and which might have become one of the reasons of the widespread support of the secession are the Basque peculiar language - Euskera, distinct geographic location and militant Basque character.

Up until 19 century, rejection of regionalism and oppression of different cultures, identities, languages on the territory of Spain might have resulted in formation of the exceptional attitude that the Basques took towards themselves and their ethnicity. What is more, political and economic power of regions was restricted and the center took over most of the authority over regions and their competencies. The autonomous rights that some of the regions used to have, no longer seemed to be in force. This increased the Basque dissatisfaction and turmoil.

The nature of the separatist movements that took place in the Basque region is quite distinctive. According to Conversi (1997), remoteness of the region, particularism, that was widespread, together with the ethnocentrism - all contributed to the formation of nationalist sentiments in the minds of the local population. Mainly the Basque ethnocentrism have led to the non-acceptance of the Spanish nation and alienation from it. In addition, locals took an aggressive attitude and approach towards any nation except the Basque. Nonetheless, the support of particularism and ethnocentrism in the region can be considered to be an outcome of the oppression that the Basque culture had experienced previously, especially during the dictatorship regime of Franco.

The unrest was increased by the turn to industrialization. The Basque Country was one of the first Spanish regions together with Catalonia to benefit from and enjoy the fruits from the industrialization and its processes. The owners of manufacturing and heavy industries located in the region had an access to overseas markets and could establish profitable connections with such partners as the United Kingdom. Basque manufacturing industries tried to maintain these contacts and looked for external support.

The Basque Nationalist Party, the desire to participate in the political process and achieve regional goals are one of the constituent parts of the Basque separatist movement. The far-reaching support that the Basque National Party received during the elections of the 1931 revealed the popular nationalist ideas gained strength in the society. The difficult and contradictory times of the Second Spanish Republic and the subsequent Spanish Civil War had a devastating influence on Spain, Spanish regions and on their different identities, the Basque and the Catalan in particular (Prohorenko, 2012).

In 1939 Francisco Franco came to power and began his totalitarian rule. As a response to the all-round Franco's authority, the intensification of the separatist sentiments brought about the establishment of the radical separatist group and terrorist organization, Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA). With the formation of the ETA, the nationalists in the Basque Country were divided into radical and conservative blocs. As a result, ETA was engaged in numerous violent campaigns and accused of many kidnappings, murders and assassinations. Until the year 2011, the radical groups continued to exist and their activity was present. But in the end of 2011, ETA claimed that the organization abandoned the terrorist actions and radical behavior, although it did not assert the end to the group's existence.

However, afterwards, the transition to democracy and the introduction of Constitution in 1978 have laid the foundation for the regional autonomism. Decentralization or delegation of authorities to the regions and instituting the subsidiarity principle have become important factors in transformation of the Spanish political system. The Basque regions together with other autonomous communities were given power to control particular areas of expertise and were given special rights to govern the regions. Some regions were granted special rights (Navarra, Canary Islands) and some received extensive rights (such as the Basque Country, Catalonia, Galicia, Andalucia).

However, in the past several decades, the Basque position and influence in the international markets have encouraged the separatist movements. The European integration is seen to foster the desire of secession. The region actively participates in European and global trade, cooperates and integrates into economy of the European Union. The economic and export capacity of the Basque Country generates the competitive advantage and enables the region to enter into economic and trade agreements with partners all over the world (Henkin, 2011).

According to the data provided by the Eurostat (2018), the Basque Country produces quarter of the national GDP despite the small size of its territory. This enables the region to provide the its population with high standards of living, with goods, services and financial resources without the aid from the center.

Therefore, these premises can be regarded to form the basis of the Basque nationalism.

2.3 History - Catalonia

Catalonia constitutes one of the autonomous communities of Spain. The history of Catalonia dates back to the 12^th century when the region formed a part of the Crown of Aragon.

During those times, Catalonia proved to be powerful in terms of military and economic capabilities and resources. The Crown of Aragon was constituted by the confederation of kingdoms and controlled a strong trading empire which extended beyond eastern territories of Spain to the south of Italy and the Mediterranean. The Crown of Aragon was united into a Spanish state after the marriage of Ferdinand and Isabella in 1469. The established rules and institutions that functioned on the lands that used to be under the rule of the Crown of the Aragon were respected and taken into consideration by the new Spanish government.

Even at that time, the political and social arrangement of the region could be reminiscent of the modern organization of the state. Catalonia possessed its own unique culture and language, had its own political and legal institutions. When it became a part of the nascent Spanish state, the central authorities extended their influence throughout this region. However, Catalonia still had its own taxation, currency and locals were free in communicating in their regional language. In general, Catalonia possessed high levels of self-government (Davies, 2011).

Nevertheless, during 19-20^th centuries, the industrialization process took over and resulted in the rise of the recognition of the distinctive Catalan culture and efforts to preserve its uniqueness, autonomy and self-governance. At the same time, the revival of the Catalan nationalism occurred (McRoberts, 2001). The industrialization has brought a lot of advantages to the economy of Catalonia and made it wealthier and more developed than other regions of the state. It managed to maintain the high degrees of autonomy until after the Spanish Civil War, when Francisco Franco introduced new political regime, in particular he imposed a totalitarian control over the entire Spain.

The rule of Franco signalized the beginning of the most devastating periods for the multinational Spanish regions and, precisely, for the Catalan culture. Rights of the local people, their culture, identity and language were severely repressed - Franco prohibited the use of any language except Spanish, publicly criticized local identities and punished those who tried to express their culture or identity in any way. The autonomous rights and self-governance of the regions were taken away and the state and its regions was controlled by the centralized authorities.

Only following the death of Franco in 1975 and the Spanish transition to democracy, the Catalan culture, identity and efforts to regain the regional autonomy could have been revived. The Spanish Constitution declared that rights of self-government should be returned to the regions of which Spain is formed. Decentralization of power under the united Spanish state was proclaimed. According to the legislature of the Spanish government (La Moncloa, 2014), the Constitution laid the foundation for mechanism of self-rule and autonomy for regions `with shared history, culture and economic ties'. Precisely, that have been the regions of Catalonia, the Basque Country and Galicia.

Moreover, in the late 70s, the Statute of Catalan Autonomy was put into force, which acknowledged the formation of regional government under the name of Generalitat de Catalunya. With the reference to Keating (2001), national governments expanded the degrees of autonomy in each of the three regions with unique cultural history and identity. This was an outcome of the tensions due to differences between these nationalities and the Spanish nation, their denial of homogeneity and recognition of affinity to their own unique identity. Despite the concessions that Spain had to go for to mitigate the separatist sentiments, the national government is determined to sustain a unitary Spanish state.

Although nationalist parties remain in the region, Catalan nationalists have accepted the Spanish political arrangement. The largest political party in Catalonia, is the Convergиncia i Uniу (CiU). The party promotes Catalan autonomy but advocated against the support for secession (McRoberts, 2001).

However, lately, the arguments between regional and central governments have revived and resulted in the popular support for separatist movement. Catalan desire for more authority, the declaration of the Catalan as a separate nation and regional support for nationalism resulted in the arrangement of the referendum where the region voted in favor of several amendments to the Statute of Autonomy. The central authorities perceived that this referendum was not carried in accordance with the Spanish Constitution and, therefore, was viewed as illegitimate. According to the Constitution, which acknowledges the existence of united Spanish nation, the Constitutional Court denied the amendments to the Statue and this led to the turmoil and nationalist protests in Catalonia.

Moreover, economic resources of Catalonia have often appeared to spark tensions between the region and the center. Catalonia is one of most prosperous autonomous communities of Spain. Due to the fact that the region does not control its taxation system, Catalonia pays to the center much more in taxes than it receives back in the form of funds and investments. This disproportionality is taken as one of the core reasons for secession by nationalist parties. Not least important is the European crisis, that increased the tensions over the tax issues and pressure for separatism even more.

The former Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy, ascribed the failure to deal with the crises to the regions that were not sufficient in cutting their spending in order to overcome the crisis, while Catalonia blamed the Spanish national government for its inefficiency to control finances.

Regional elections that were carried in 2012 provided nationalists with the majority of seats in the local Parliament. In 2013, the Catalan government has signed the Declaration of Sovereignty, providing the foundation for the referendum of 2014. These activities were opposed and regarded as unconstitutional by the Spanish national government.

2.4 Background of Galician nationalism

Although there are two regions (Catalonia and the Basque Country) in Spain that standout significantly when observing the notions of separatist movements and nationalism, the region of Galicia can also be a case in the point. Nationalistic sentiments have always been present in this region. Although today nationalism has weakened its course there, there were times when people strongly supported the nationalistic parties and direction. It is possible to find similarities in all of three cases, the nationalism in Galicia has not been as radical and strong as in the Basque and Catalan regions.

There is a difference between nationalism and secessionism. Some observers believe that in the Galician instance, nationalism is quite evident. However, they question the degree to which these nationalistic feelings expand into the desire to secede.

Galician secessionism is an idea that has been present in the region. However, the local government and people have no intention of pursuing this idea constantly. One should always keep in mind that although the popular support for independence has been low in the recent times, there is potential and the degree to which this support can evolve to.

According to Schrijver (2006), Galician language is something that distinguished the region from other Spanish regions and connected it more to Portugal. This linguistic similarity with the Portuguese language has contributed to self-differentiation of Galicia from Spain and has appeared to be a foundation for nationalism and nationalistic parties.

In the beginning, the origins of Galician language and different Galician identity prompted the support for regionalism and regionalist political parties. Galician Regionalist Association together with the Galician League and Galician Solidarity were formed. Nevertheless, these organizations failed to gain solid ground and appeared to be unattractive. Later, before the Spanish Civil War started, Galician nationalist and regionalist parties agreed to form a joint Galicianist Party. They managed to establish a Statute of Autonomy following the examples of other Spanish regions, the Basque Country and Catalonia in particular. Due to the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, this Statute could not be put into force.

What is more, prior to the Spanish transition to democracy, Galician culture, language and identity suffered and severely weakened under Franco's regime. All nationalist sentiments across Spain were oppressed and opposition to central government was persecuted. Due to the Franco's abuse of power and suppression of Galician culture and sense of belonging, the locality felt even more alienated which contributed to the emergence of strong nationalism in the following years after the death of Franco and transition to democracy.

In the middle of the 1960s several nationalistic parties appeared to dominate the political scene and Galicia received the acknowledgement as a `historic nationality'. In 1981, the Statute of Autonomy was realised.

With the reference to Schrijver (2006), Galician Nationalist Bloc demanded self-determination and higher degrees of autonomy and independence if it were to remain under Spanish central authorities. At first, this political coalition that unified Galician nationalists opposed European integration and unification due to the competition and negative effects on Galician local production. Nonetheless, the Bloc later changed its outlook, and perceived that the EU gives more voice to regions and grants more power to influence decision-making processes.

Since mid-1980s, political forces of the Galician local Parliament such as the People's Party of Galicia and Socialist Party of Galicia has been attracting support and successfully dominating the electoral outcome for several decades. They have stood for appreciation for local language and culture and promoted awareness of the Galician identity. Their regionalist programme have been the dominant and attractive feature for their following.

In 2012, Anova with its nationalist approach appeared as a deviated fraction of the Galician Nationalist Bloc. Similarly to other three parties mentioned above, its programme has been focusing around preservation of Galician identity.

2.5 Maintaining the Status Quo - Galicia

Galician nationalism have not been as vigorous as separatist actions in Catalonia or in the Basque Country. At the present time, the degree to which Galicians are willing to take actions to receive autonomy and self-governance is moderate. As a matter of fact, there is no desire to follow the examples of Catalonia or strongly endorse independence. What is more, Galicians have appeared to be highly in support for maintaining the status quo.

2.6 Economy - Galicia

Galician productive sectors have been mostly dependent on agriculture and construction of ships. Fishing has been the largest sector of production in the region. Galician economy did not experience economic boom that followed industrialisation. In addition, developments that stimulated the growth of economy were moderate and were restricted by the Galician peripheral geography and lack of infrastructure. What is more, an human outflow from the region has been one of the determinant factors to the economic stagnation.

Catalonia and the Basque Country, conversely, have seen large economic growth and increase in productivity and creation of competitive advantage.

Poor transport infrastructure remains to be Galician major challenge to economic development according to Hulbert (2012). There is a significant gap in economic wealth that is accumulated in coastal, industrial cities and rural, landlocked areas. Although investments have been promoted to develop infrastructure and territories that fall behind in development, Galician local government works together with the Spanish national government to eliminate existing problems. As a consequence, reliance on central authorities for financial assistance and inability to stand independently from Madrid have become major causes for the decline in support for higher autonomy and secession from the country.

3. Why Spanish regions have been in favour of separatism

3.1 Culture and nation

The attitudes towards independence and self-government in Galicia differ significantly from the movements that have occurred in Catalonia or in the Basque Country. Only a small part of the Galician locals consider independence as favorable and creating advantages for the region. There are several reasons for such varying perceptions of and attitude towards secessionism.

Important prerequisites for a secessionist sentiments and ideology to spread are different language, culture, identity and history. Language is something that distinguished to a great extent these three Spanish regions. Galician, Catalan and Basque languages are official languages of the respective regions. They are used in legislature, local politics, education and media. In each region, language has been seen as an important differentiation factor which acknowledges the existence of their identity. During the totalitarian Franco regime, Galicians, Catalans and Basques languages were restricted in the use of their local languages and even persecuted for it. Spanish was proclaimed to be the sole national language of communication among people of all Spanish regions. Despite this period, local languages were preserved as local people continued to spoke them privately. After Spanish transition to democracy, the revival of the cultural initiatives gained ground and regional languages received an official status.

Nowadays, cultural and linguistic protection remains to be the focus and the main concern of the Galician nationalism. Galician nationalists tend to associate Galician culture, traditions and language to be close with Portugal. This can create an impression that Galicians can consider an opportunity of unification with Portugal rather than forming a part of the Spanish state. Catalans and the Basques, on the contrary, have built their separatist and independence programs extending beyond linguistic motives.

Shared history is another factor at play when it comes to independence campaigns or increased desires for autonomy. Spanish regions have been seen to differentiate between their own history and the history of the state. Many regional separatist parties and organizations often claim that their territory was occupied and taken control of unfairly and illegitimately. Catalan nationalists assert that Catalonia was taken into possession by the Crown of Castile forcefully. Galicia, on the contrary, despite having distinct cultural identity, had been integrated to the lands of the Crown of Castile long before and, thus, according to Mбiz & Losada (1999), have insufficient history of autonomous statehood.

What is more, according to the Centro Investigaciones Sociolуgicas (CIS) (2016), Catalans associate themselves more with the Catalan culture and perceive to have Catalan identity rather than the Spanish one. However, people of the Galician region regard themselves to be Spanish and Galician in equal measure.

3.2 Economic environment

The economies of the Basque Country, Galicia and Catalonia also differ significantly. With the reference to the data provided by the Eurostat (2019), the regional GDP per capita in Galicia rates below those of Spain. However, GDP per capita in the Basque Country and Catalonia is much higher than the national Spanish rates. Although, Galicia still cannot be regarded as a backward and poor region, the region does not keep up with the most affluent regions that are present within the boundaries of Spain and, in particular, does not outstrip them.

Galicia is not included to the top most developed and richest Spanish autonomous communities. Its economy is mostly based on agricultural activities. Galicia was not one of those regions that could enjoy the benefits of the industrialization process one of the firsts. Thus, agrarian economy with historically late industrialization did not, apparently, provide opportunities for rapid growth and advanced economic development. Nevertheless, Galicia continues to perform much better economically than other Spanish regions where economic issues are abundant such as high rates of unemployment and decreased levels of purchasing power.

Another issue, that often appears to be one of the reasons why wealthy autonomous communities of Spanish would like to pursue secession, is taxes and taxation system. Spain has progressive type of taxation, which indicates that regions that earn higher incomes pay more in taxes. In this manner, Spanish national government is able to redistribute finances and funds from affluent regions to the ones which are in financial need and that struggle to create income at the local level. In particular, Catalonia and the Basque Country has been discontent with the fact that they pay higher taxes but receive less in the form of governmental funding.

Among those regions that are subsidized by the state and contribute less in the form of taxes to the Spanish budget are Galicia and the Basque Country. Catalonia, however, stays in the fiscal deficit. According to the data provided by the Finance Ministry of Spain (2017), although the Basque Country is recognized as one of the richest Spanish autonomous communities, together with other affluent regions, it receives more investment and funding than it contributes to the center in taxes. The explanation behind this is that the regions have been granted special taxation rights, as in the case of the Basque Country, due to the historical background and strong radical desires of separatism.

According to the figures that indicate persistent fiscal deficit that Catalonia has experienced for several decades (Generalitat de Catalunya, 2019), it is possible to assume that this situation have led to the popular support of independence movements and local understanding that the region carries the national burden and could potentially be better off once it secedes from Spain. Although there are cultural, social and political reasons behind Catalan separatist movements, the taxation system might have contributed to a great extent to the desire of establishment of the independent state.

In the Basque Country the desires for independence have been mitigated by state concessions, cultural recognition and provision of economic freedoms such as special taxation rights. In Galicia, the pro-independence movements have been completely eliminated by the economic benefits that the region enjoys within Spain and by preserving the status quo.

3.3 Political situation

Spain is a democratic country where opposition is legally recognized as well as nationalist and secessionist political organizations, institutions and political parties. Political parties of separatist and nationalist nature have won seats and represent their following not only in the Spanish but also in the European Union's institutions.

Although representation is held in place and is allowed, the Spanish central government has denied several demands introduced by the Catalan local government several times. While Catalonia perceives the policies of the center and of the popular national political party PP (People's Party) to be unfavorable to the its distinctive regional needs and interests, the center considers Catalans as being aggressively oriented towards national aims and even preventing them.

The central government is highly unwilling to enter into dialogue with the Catalan government due to the demands to recognition as a separate Catalan nation and requirement to carry the right of fiscal self-management. These two reasons have become the principle sources of argument and struggle.

On the contrary, Galicia has remained satisfied with the policies of the center mainly due to the fact that the central government provides economic safeguards for the region. In turn, Galicia performs quite well economically and acts in accordance with interests of both Spain and the region. As it can evidently be seen, neither of the sides have attempted to enter into aggressive dialogue or provide foundation for arguments. Galicia has been the only one out of the three regions, where nationalist, separatist or any other radical political parties have not received broad recognition and support (Pallarйs, 2010). Even though Galician Nationalist Bloc have won seat in the local regional Parliament in the 2016 elections, the policies of the party do not aim to achieve regional independence. People's Party of Galicia, a conservative political party, remains to have the dominant number of seats in the Parliament and its support have seem to be preserved.

3.4 Political deadlock that led to Spanish political crisis of 2019

The democratic and free election that are now allowed in the Spanish contemporary political system is a relatively new procedure for Spain. The first democratic parliamentary elections became possible in the late 1970s after Franco died and his dictatorship rule came to an end.

This democratic transition was peaceful, managed to leave authoritarian governance in the past and prevented civil wars and violence from reoccurring.

However, those decisions that seemed to be working successfully in the 1970s have become ineffective to deal with modern issues and have led to a deep political crisis that has swept the country in recent years. Its most striking manifestations are the ongoing conflict between the center and regional autonomies, the collapse of the two-party system and unpopularity of the monarchy. The socialist victory in the elections can make the reformation of the existing political system possible and may lead Spain to a new stage of development.

After the death of Franco, the Spanish ruling elite was faced with two challenges, which needed to be managed in order to maintain power in their hands. First of all, the government worked to prevent a new civil war from happening again and this required symbols and ideas that could unite the Spaniards, regardless of their political views. Secondly, it was important for the central authorities to eliminate the action of those political forces who could undermine the stability of the existing structure of Spanish society. Those forces included left-wing advocates, who hoped that with the end to the authoritarian rule Spain would again be able to become a republic, as well as Catalan and Basque nationalists who desired secession from Spain. All of them had to be granted recognition and some degree of power in the new political system.

To combat the threat to the Spanish integrity and the threat of separatism, Spain became a country composed of autonomous communities which were given extended degrees powers, which continued to increase over time. Autonomous status was granted not only to Catalonia and the Basque Country, but also to areas that have never explicitly claimed to have it. The country remained unitary, unified and integrated.

Another important issue appeared to be the prevention of the left parties, socialists and communists, from undermining the democratic political structure. The Spanish government reached a consensus by allowing access to power for these parties. The socialists and communists gained representation in parliament and tempered their radical rhetoric.

Moreover, the political stability was ensured in the post-Francoist Spain by the electoral system, designed in such a way that the parliament is not a representation of the people but of the political parties. The Spanish people vote for party lists and there are no single-member districts in the country. In addition, parliamentary seats are distributed proportionally according to the Jefferson method, which grants the first winning party an advantage, respects the second winning party and discriminates the third.

In Spain, this method provided a stable two-party system, where the power shifted between the socialists and conservative People's Party, and also ensured the loyalty of regional parties. Catalan and Basque nationalists, occupying 1st and 2nd places in national elections in their regions, often received more representation in the Cortes Generales than national parties that took 3rd or 4th place in the whole country.

The Spanish political structure built in the aftermath of Franco proved to be quite stable and has seemed to last more than three decades. It is possible that this structure would have worked even longer, but the 2008 global financial crisis hit Spanish economy and societal well-being severely. Spanish government tried to implement economic recovery programs by cutting social spending, which left society disillusioned and dissatisfied with the political system and secessionist sentiments of certain regional political parties have sparked again. The declarations of regional governments that they would have been better off as a separate state have been gaining support since then.

The crisis was became evident when the two-party system started to fail and new political forces appeared. In 2014 the ultra-leftist political party Podemos was created. The socialists still remained the dominant party, although Podemos took a significant share of their voters. The right-wing party, People's Party, due to fiscal austerity measures and corruption, in which its party leaders were involved, was highly criticized in the society. The former advocates and voters of the People's Party began to support Ciuadadanos and Vox parties which promoted neoliberal agenda.

The Catalan crisis increased the influence of the right-wing parties in politics - they took seats in the parliament for the first time, receiving more than 10% of the votes.

What is more, the crisis in the Spanish political system might have occurred not least because the image of the Spanish royal family has worsened. The King can act as an arbitrator in especially critical situations. However, the current King Felipe VI has not proved to be managing his job well: when the 2017 referendum on independence in Catalonia was organized, he gave freedom to the government to forcefully resolve the conflict. By acting like this, the king has become viewed as a weak and worthless actor not only by the active supporters of independence, but also by many Catalans who restrained the desire for independence.

The monarchy began to lose support in other regions as well. According to the study carried by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, less than 50% of the country's population supports monarchy preservation. In Catalonia and in the Basque Country monarchy is favored by 1 voters while 4 voters oppose it.

The Catalan crisis, which peaked in the fall of 2017, proved that the system of autonomous communities can no longer manage its tasks as well. For many years the status of autonomy mitigated successfully the separatist sentiment among the Basques and Catalans, but, unfortunately, this system has led to a situation where regional politicians started to demand even more concessions from Madrid, declaring that their rights could be revised continuously.

The evident problems within the political and social structure of Spain, such as ineffectiveness of the old party system, the damaging reputation of the monarchy and the territorial issues, have required new systematic solutions and new system that would be capable to work effectively. Acknowledging this, Pedro Sanchez, the leader of the Socialist Worker's party (PSOE), have attempted to reunite Spanish society. His administration proposed the Catalan government a more socially oriented budget and to leave the frightening memories of the Francoist period in the past (statement made by Sanchez of 24.10.19). To the opinion of Sanchez, Spain has become ready to get rid of the legacy of Francoism, move into a new era with greater social justice without dividing the country into winners and losers of the civil war.

But the socialist party did not have a dominant number of seats in the Parliament - they had only a quarter of the seats, so the success of their initiatives depended on whether they could negotiate with the representatives of Podemos, Basque and Catalan parties. However, when in February 2019, they refused to vote for the draft of the new budget, Sanchez, as a Prime Minister of Spain, dissolved parliament (statement of Sanchez of 15.02.2019).

In the early elections, the socialist political party was able to take 1st place, and the three right-wing parties, more involved in arguments among themselves than in the struggle with the socialists, did not even collect enough votes to form a government.

Right-wing parties advocate for the post-Franco regime and consider unacceptable creation of the new governmental system. Leftists say that living as it is now is no longer possible. The April 2019 election results show that Spanish society has been ready for change, and gives a chance to pull Spain out of the post-Franco period - and if they manage to negotiate with regional political parties such as the Canary Coalition or the Basque Nationalist Party, they can achieve their goal without the support of the Catalan parties, which require separation of the region from Spain. The coalition cabinet, that needed to be formed, (the first in the history of Spanish democracy) should have enough forces to implement initiatives.

During the year 2019 Spain did not manage to form a government even though the two elections were held. The Spaniards have become divided, disoriented and polarized more than ever in the recent years.

According to El Mundo (2019), the early parliamentary elections that were organized on April 28, 2019 ended with the victory of the Socialist Workers' Party and the defeat of conservative People's Party.

However, the election results confirmed that the winning party does not have enough votes to form a government on its own. As it turned out, the formation of the proper government cannot possible without the coalition between the parties (Sanchez statement made on 04.01.20).

The socialist party with Sanchez as a party leader, won only 155 seats in the 2019 November elections, which is less than the majority of the 350 seats in the Cortes. The minority government is possible to be formed as long as it receives more votes in favor than against in the Congress of Deputies. If the Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya refrains, it can lead to the formation of the minority government.

Although the Spanish Constitution forbids regions from seceding, the regional Catalan parties have been demanding referendum on the independence. Due to the fact that deputies of the separatist Catalan and Basque parties can also support or abstain the vote of confidence, Pedro Sanchez has been willing to establish dialogue and reach an agreement regarding the Catalan secessionism (statement made by Sanchez on 15.02.19 and on 7.11.19), resulting in the ERC was ready to abstain to allow Sanchez to take the place.

Although in order to form a government, for socialists obtaining a vote of confidence with the support of the regional separatist parties would create an image of betrayal of Spanish values of integrity and preservation of statehood, coalition formation was more preferable.

Moreover, after the Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya declared that they would refrain from the vote, Sanchez was able to secure his position in office.

As a result, Socialists formed a coalition government together with Podemos party (statement of Pedro Sanchez dating 04.01.20). The coalition government of socialists and Podemos aims to increase social spending and impose higher taxes on banks and the wealthy (statement dating 12.01.20).

4. European Union and its role in increasing separatist sentiments

According to Mathews (1997), integrated and globalized world not only leads to the interdependence in trade, politics, security and environment but also it can dissolve political order and social stability. One of the possible consequences that may appear from integration of states are power dispersion and flows of information. States can be challenged by the prospect of possible ethnic, cultural and identity movements, which in the end may bring about separatist movements from regions and ethnic communities that wish to separate from the central governments.

Dayton (2015) interprets separatism as movements that either seek certain level of autonomy and independence within the existing state or desire to break away from the central authorities and establish an independent nation state. Separatist movements became prominent in the 1990s with the dissolution of the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia. Rosenberg (2014) also provides examples of Kosovo, Montenegro and South Sudan as establishment of independent states.

Since the formation of the European Union, ongoing regional separatist movements have been present. As of today, the most prominent cases include Scotland, Catalonia and the Basque Country. The European Union is often viewed as an advanced institution, favorable to its member states, it is also serves as a model and an example to the integration processes across the world. Although the member states have become deeply integrated by the single market, common currency and law, separatist movements have a great impact on the stability of such a system. According to Dayton (2015), they can be regarded to undermine the certainty and create instability that the European Union seeks to eliminate. What is more, the increase in the number of the separatist movements in the European Union may lead to believe that the demand for the new separate states is on the rise.

4.1 European Institutions

There is a conviction that the European Union together with its established institutions might have stimulated separatist sentiments. Decentralization of power away from nation-states towards regional governments and transnational organizations and institutions has given power and ability to influence decision-making to players of smaller regional nature. These sub-state units have obtained more autonomy to pursue their own interests despite the national interests and integrity concerns. The European Union has been attractive for the regions due to this opportunity to become a part of the policy-making process and to affect the outcome. The delegation of power enables regions to demand policies that favour their regions. However, national authorities cannot possibly satisfy both national and regional matters. Some national concerns are always dominant and may override the regional goals. As a consequence, localities may feel alienated and discontent with the national government failure to satisfy their needs. They become more likely to demand higher degrees of autonomy or even secession from the state.

The common institutions of the European Union provide reasons for numerous regions of European countries desire independence and establish a separate state. Potentially, as Pantovic (2014) argues, they can have a voice in the European affairs and international relations that may reflect their interests and opinions. In addition, these small newly established states can have a higher chance on being heard and taken into consideration seriously. What is more, they may attain access to more financial inflows and assistance.

The European Union can also guarantee security of these small states. The states that are not part of the EU face significantly more security concerns than the EU member-states. As a matter of fact, since the its creation, the EU member-states have not started or participated in any war. Keohane and Nye (2000) argue that institutions like the European Union have complex structure and create restrictions for the actions that countries may undertake due to interdependence and institutionalization. The countries of the EU, that are also granted the membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, are also backed by this alliance. NATO continues to provide military and security assistance to its regions and states even to those of the separatist character (Pantovic, 2014).

Connolly (2013) claims that several separatist regions, such as Catalonia, could have already gained from the networks of alliances and links that the European Union provides. The Catalan movement have spread, gained acknowledgement of its culture and established relationships with other regions of the EU member-states. Separatist regions successfully took part in formation of the European Free Alliance (EFA) political party that promotes rights and interests of the regional separatist parties in the European Parliament. The purpose for its creation is to promote the principle of and right to self-determination of nations, ethnic groups and regions of the EU. Notwithstanding the fact that some separatist regions can also get involved in the European political and legislative matters through such networks as Conference of European Regions with Legislative Powers.

4.2 Economic causes

The formation of the European Union has led to the shift of economic power and control away from the state actors towards the multinational enterprises (MNEs), non-state and regional actors. According to the KOF Globalization Index, regions and smaller European states gain significantly more advantages from integrated global economic system. For example, according to Pantovic (2014), such prosperous regions like Catalonia may benefit economically by seceding from Spain and forming a separate state within the European Union. They may gain from independence by attracting more foreign direct investment to the region and, thus, becoming more competitive with other existing states on the open European market.

The second economic cause for the regional desire to statehood, that Pantovic(2014) finds, can be the periods of crisis and the national burdens that they usually lead to. Separatist movements are likely to gain ground in those wealthy regions, which would not like to pay for the burdens of the whole nation and country in times of economic deterioration. This argument can be observed on the same case of Catalonia with the reference to Connolly (2013). It is one of the economically prosperous regions of Spain, but the central national authorities determine the tax impositions and distribute collected funds across the whole country. The amount of money that gets back to the Catalan region is much less than the amount of taxes that the region pays to the centre. Existing debts in the region and unwillingness of the Spanish government to provide financial aid in the form of loans have created an image in the minds of the Catalan locals that Spanish policies and austerity measures restrain the economic development and growth of the region. Thus, this creates conditions under which locals regard independence as a way of expanding their economy.

4.3 International and European Law

The principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity that the Westphalian system fosters are challenged by the separatist movements. Connolly (2013) provides that a newly established state leads to the loss of control over its territory by the original state authority. What is more, secessionist movement in one region of the country can lead to the willingness of other regions to become independent. This can lead to the dissolution of the larger state entity. An example of this, can be the dissolution of Yugoslavia. Although the international law proclaims the right to self-determination of nations to be legitimate, it is often discouraged by the global actors. By some members of the international community the actions that produce the secessionist outcome are often viewed as illegitimate. If each country or region could pursue freely the actions towards self-determination, the international structure that exist today would be in the condition of anarchy (Connolly, 2013). That is why, the proclamation of independence can be justified under certain conditions and is usually negotiated between the members of the international community. For instance, secessionism in Kosovo was supported by some countries due to the violations of the human rights and freedoms by the central Serb government. At the present time, negotiation and dialogue that include explanations and justification for the secessionism of region to take place from the state are regarded to be the most pacifying and rightful method for European countries. When both the potential new state and the originally existing state agree to separation, the risk of the conflict reduces and the relations between two can be preserved.