Catalonia Position of the parties with parliamentary representation in Catalonia (sorted by votes): •
CiU, liberal and
Catalan nationalist coalition of CDC (37 seats) and UDC (13 seats): the goal to achieve a sovereign state in the European framework was included in their election manifesto,
Catalunya 2020. This is an aim shared by a majority within the coalition and by CDC, including the party president
Artur Mas. However some leaders of UDC such as
Josep Antoni Duran Lleida have had an ambiguous position and have defended a
confederal model. For the 9N consultation, CDC supports the "yes-yes" to independence whereas UDC supports the "yes" to the first question but has given liberty to its members on how to vote on the second question. •
ERC, social democratic and pro
Catalan independence party (21 seats): ERC clearly supports Catalonia having its own State within the
European Union framework, and for that reason they have signed the pact with CiU since 2012. •
PSC, social democratic party federated with the
Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (20 seats): in the words of their leader, the PSC is against independence, but favours the holding of a legal referendum agreed with the Spanish Government. This is why it decided to abstain in all parliamentary votes dealing with the right to decide. Despite that, some notable PSC leaders (like
Montserrat Tura and
Joaquim Nadal) said they would vote for independence in a referendum.
Miquel Iceta, leader of the PSC from 2014 to 2021, had declared that he would not vote in the participation process. The PP would not vote in the participation process.
Joan Herrera, current leader of ICV, has declared he will not vote in the participation process. (9 seats): C's is strongly positioned against the self-determination referendum unless it is previously approved by the Spanish parliament. Its leadership said that C's would not vote in the participation process.
Rest of Spain Regional Govt headquarters on 9 November 2014. ;Spanish Government The Spanish Government "will not allow" and "will not negotiate" on Catalonia's self-determination vote. •
Mariano Rajoy,
Prime Minister of Spain: "I want to tell you with all clarity that this consultation will not take place". •
Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón,
Spanish Justice Minister: "The vote will not take place". •
The Plural Left (11 seats) anti-capitalist and eco-socialist group led by
United Left, and containing a number of
left,
environmental,
Federalist and
nationalist parties throughout Spain, defends a
federal,
multinational,
social and
Republican government and recognizes the right of the people of Catalonia to decide their political future. •
Amaiur (7 seats), Basque separatist party, actively supports the Catalan right to hold a referendum on self-determination and requests a similar right for the
Spanish Basque Country. •
Union, Progress and Democracy (UPyD) (5 seats) argue that the referendum is illegal and believes that the Spanish government should use all legal means to prevent the referendum, and partially blames PP and PSOE for this situation. •
Basque Nationalist Party (5 seats) defends the right of the people of Catalonia to decide their political future and the Catalan independence referendum. •
Galician Nationalist Bloc (2 seats) defends the
right of self-determination of Catalonia and a similar right for
Galicia. •
Compromís (1 seat)
Valencian coalition that contains
left,
environmental and
Valencian nationalist parties, defends the Catalan referendum of self-determination. •
Foro Asturias (1 seat) opposes the Catalan referendum of self-determination because "national sovereignty resides in the Spanish people". ;Regional Governments The
Basque Government supports the Catalan agreement to hold the referendum and calls on the Spanish government to recognise the referendum and allow it to be celebrated.
International reactions ;Organisations • — In April 2013, UN Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon stated in a press conference that "All the issues between the countries and among the countries should be resolved through peaceful means, through dialogue, respecting the genuine aspirations of the people concerned." • — A spokesperson of the
European Commission declared that if Catalonia seceded from Spain it would automatically leave the
European Union: "An independent state, because of its independence, would become a third country vis-à-vis the EU and as of the day of the independence the EU treaties will no longer apply'". • — A spokesperson for
NATO said that an independent country would not automatically be part of the organisation, saying "for any nation to be incorporated into the alliance the consensus of all the NATO allies will be necessary". ;States • — Chancellor
Angela Merkel said: "We're in favour of the territorial integrity of all states but that's completely different to regions becoming independent and organising themselves. So I share the opinion of the Spanish government, and other than that I won't get involved in domestic Spanish matters". • — Prime Minister
Valdis Dombrovskis said: "If there is a clear will of the people and a clear demand for a referendum, it is absolutely worth it to pay attention and look at options on how to tackle it". • — Prime Minister
Algirdas Butkevičius said: "Each country must find its own path and has the right to self-determination". • — Prime Minister
Manuel Valls (born in Catalonia), announced in January 2014 that he does not agree with "the process that is underway in Catalonia" and reaffirmed that he is "anxious" about the referendum. • — Prime Minister
David Cameron (who enabled the
2014 Scottish independence referendum to be carried out) said: "I don't believe that, in the end, [it's right to] try to ignore these questions of nationality, independence, identity... I think it’s right to make your arguments, take them on and then you let the people decide. But that's the way I want to do things in the United Kingdom. I would never presume to tell people in Spain how to meet these challenges themselves; it's a matter for the Spanish Government and the Spanish Prime Minister." After the consultation he declared that he wanted Spain "to stay united" and that referendums "should be done through the proper constitutional and legal frameworks". • — Deputy
National Security Council Spokesperson and Assistant Press Secretary Caitlin Hayden said of the White House response to a petition on its website that was supported by 30,000 signatures: "The United States recognises the unique culture and traditions of the Catalan region, but considers the status of Catalonia to be an internal Spanish matter. We are confident that the Government and the people of Spain will resolve this issue in accordance with their laws and Constitution." ;European parties •
Graham Watson, President of the
Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party (ALDE): "The people of Catalonia have the right to choose their own future [...] I believe in the democracy. Catalans should be able to choose. That's what democracy is about." • The
European Free Alliance stated: "We believe that freedom, democracy and the right to decide on your own future are core values of Europe. We would welcome Catalonia and a Catalan Republic to be a new state within Europe, if the people so decide" ;Media • David Gardner, International Affairs Editor at the
Financial Times, wrote: "No one can simply ban a democratic referendum in Catalonia". On 15 December 2013, the
Financial Times published an editorial that read: "This is a political problem that requires a negotiated solution – more federalism within Spain’s crying need for institutional renewal." It exhorted "politicians from both sides (...) to prevent what is at root a political issue becoming a problem that threatens the very state." •
The Economist published an article in the week after the November 2014 ballot arguing that "The Madrid government should let the Catalans have a vote—and then defeat the separatists at the polls." ;Individuals • The LetCatalansVote manifesto included a statement that read "we call on the Spanish government and institutions and their Catalan counterparts to work together to allow the citizens of Catalonia to vote on their political future and then negotiate in good faith based on the result." ==Opinion polling ==