Two weeks after the chaos and violence that marked the controversial ballot, the Catalan government appears to have privately admitted the new country would not be instantly welcomed into the European fold by Brussels.
Documents seen by El Mundo appear to conflict with the government’s campaign message, which suggested Catalan could remain in the bloc as an independent country.
The report, written by Department of Economics, headed by Catalan vice president Oriol Junqueras, says it is “possible that Catalonia can not be represented in the European institutions from day one”.
But it adds: “A declaration of independence does not immediately imply the creation of an independent Catalonia or its continuity or exclusion from the European Union.”
A possible solution would be to seek to join the EFTA common market with Iceland, Switzerland Norway and Liechtenstein, the papers suggest.
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It also accepts that the hypothetical scenario is unlikely to become a reality anytime soon.
For Catalonia to be outside the EU or the euro, the documents read, Spain would have to recognise its independence and that “will not happen in the short term”.
European Committee president Jean Claude Junker had previously warned Catalonia that any new state would need to apply for EU membership.
Those accession negotiations are an arduous process. It took Croatia 10 years to become the last country to join the EU in 2013.
The process involves complying with all EU standards and rules and winning the consent of all EU governments.
It means that Spain would be able to block Catalonia’s EU accession if it wished.