The Government announced on Tuesday the nine members of the academic council that will have to pilot the Catalan proposal for a clarity agreement that sets the rules of the game for a hypothetical referendum. Today, these experts have already met at the Palau de la Generalitat with Pere Aragonès, who has sent them the five basic questions, the answers to which will circumscribe the entire debate. Not only that of this "committee of wise men", but also that which may develop later among citizens, entities and political parties.
One by one, the questions are: 1. What characteristics should be included in a clarity agreement with the Spanish State to resolve the political conflict; 2. What mechanisms exist in comparative politics that would make it possible to provide solutions to the political conflict; 3. which political actors and institutions should take the initiative in order to implement these solutions; 4. What role should a referendum on the political future of Catalonia, or other similar mechanisms, have when resolving the political conflict, and 5. What characteristics should a referendum on the political future of Catalonia, or other similar mechanisms, have? to have maximum legitimacy and inclusiveness and ensure validity and implementation.
Broadly speaking, the need to establish, for example, what majorities would have to be given to hold a referendum falls on the latter. The questions do not include the words independence or self-determination and are open-ended enough that there are multiple responses to each question. In fact, it is so much the case that "similar mechanisms" are also being asked: in Catalonia a non-binding consultation was held on November 9, 2014, an election that the Government of Artur Mas proposed as a plebiscite, or a unilateral referendum on November 1. October 2017. And on the fourth question, there is the task of establishing what purpose a referendum should have: if with the results in hand, a government is urged to mark a negotiation process, or to ratify a decision of the Government, or that a previous agreement is ratified, and so on.
Aragonès has appeared in Palau before the press to thank the accompaniment of "experts of recognized prestige" and to point out that his option is a referendum, but that he is willing to listen to all proposals. "They have complete freedom to contribute their initiatives," he said of the academics, while remarking "in order for [the clarity agreement] to be implemented, it is essential that the different parties, those who support independence and those who do not to independence, agree on a decision mechanism".
The president of the Generalitat and his closest team have been in charge of formulating the questions, although there has been prior advice from academics before formalizing today in the council to study a clarity agreement. The Government trusts that within approximately two months, this committee will present a first report. From here, three debates will begin: one around a table of Catalan parties that, despite the opposition of a large part of them, intends to convene Aragonès after the municipal elections on May 28; another discussion forum between entities and associations of all kinds, and one more among non-organized citizens.
After this process, the same council of academics will collect the conclusions to prepare a final report on a Catalan proposal for a referendum to leave it in the hands of the Government.
