Catalonia's Renewed Push for Independence From Spain

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy and the head of the Catalan regional government, Artur Mas, will meet Sept. 20 in Madrid to discuss issues raised by an immense protest in Barcelona on Sept. 11. More than 1.5 million people rallied to celebrate Catalonia's national day and to call for independence for the Spanish autonomous region under the slogan "Catalonia, a new state within Europe." This is a markedly different theme for an independence movement that once existed on the margins. In contrast to previous calls for outright independence, the main goal of the current Catalan administration is obtaining fiscal autonomy.

Despite its more limited goals, separatist sentiment is reaching unprecedented levels. The peaceful demonstration came two weeks after Catalonia requested a 5 billion-euro ($6.6 billion) bailout from the Spanish central government to shore up the region's budget deficit, which it says is a result of unfair taxation by Madrid. The resurgence of Catalan separatism is a telltale sign of the political and social pressures that are being aggravated by the European financial crisis and of the questions of sovereignty and self-determination raised by the EU existential crisis.