The paper ‘The process for holding the consultation regarding the political future of Catalonia: an evaluation’ summarizes the steps taken over recent years by Catalan institutions in response to the strong demand emerging from large sectors of the citizenship about the political future of Catalonia. This process is characterized by its peaceful, democratic nature, in full respect of individual and minority rights, with a clear will to seek dialogue and political agreement with the Spanish State and to follow all existing legal paths under the current legal framework.

 

Thus far, the Spanish State has refused to engage in any kind of political dialogue with the Catalan authorities. It has blocked also all the legal mechanisms currently available to organize a mutually agreed political consultation about the future status of Catalonia. This has included the piling of criminal charges against the President and two members of the Executive Council of the Catalan Government.