Using Europe for Independence? Exploring how Catalan Separatist Parties Take their Secessionist Agenda to the European Parliament (1999-2019)

This paper explores the evolution of secessionist discourses and their Europeanization by Catalan separatist parties between 1999 and 2019 in the European Parliament and thereby seeks to better understand the political effects of European integration on secessionist parties’ visions of independence in the EU over time. Contrary to expectations, European integration seems to have sustained, rather than eradicated, the quest for independence in the EU by pro-European secessionist parties, which effectively challenges the status quo and political organization of the EU. Catalonia is a key example, where pro-European nationalism strongly gained in popularity after 2010, and where Europe appears to be a core part of Catalan independence. Pro-European secessionist parties, however, rarely elaborate on the meaning of their vision of independence in the EU, and how and why Europe is a part of their strategy. We have thus far overlooked the rich discursive environment around this topic at the European level and therefore this study breaks new ground by exploring how CiU/PDeCAT and ERC have expressed their visions of independence in the European Parliament and how these discourses have been Europeanized between 1999 and 2019 by means of a qualitative content analysis of European Parliament speeches, questions and interviews.