EU: Spain, Nethrlands open econmy for Europe preferable - by Jan Strupczewski and Foo Yun Chee

Spain and the Netherlands on Wednesday urged the 27-country European Union to keep its economy open, as it tries to become more independent from global powers like the United States and Asia in technology, vaccine production and energy.

The joint call by the two countries, which have large exposure to trade and tourism, comes as the European Commission announced on Wednesday tougher rules on the export of COVID-19 vaccines, including clearer rights to block shipments to countries.

Read more at: Spain, Netherlands say open economy key to EU strategic autonomy

SPAIN; Covid-19 in Spain: Spain records highest weekly number of Covid deaths since first wave: 3,415 - by Emilio de Benito

The last seven days have been the worst in terms of coronavirus deaths since the first wave of the pandemic in Spain in the spring of 2020. According to the latest report from the Spanish Health Ministry, which was released on Thursday, a total of 3,415 people have died after a positive Covid-19 test over the last week. And this figure is on the rise, up 11.35% from a week before.

Read more at: Covid-19 in Spain: Spain records highest weekly number of Covid deaths since first wave: 3,415 | Society | EL PAÍS in English

Spain's job market: Labor market sets positive records in September, but employment still far from pre-pandemic levels

Despite the covid-19pandemic 15-million-spaniards-are-either-jobless-or-furloughed-due-to-coronavirus.html" target="_blank">devastating effect
that the coronavirus pandemic has had on the Spanish economy, September
was a record month for the labor market. Registered unemployment fell
by 26,329 people, which is the highest figure since at least 1996, when
the current statistical series began. Employment also grew, with 84,013 new registrations with the Social Security system,
also the highest figure for the month of September. This was partly due
to new hirings of teachers – more staff are being drafted in across the
country so that schools can cope with coronavirus measures – as well as
of agricultural workers. The total number of workers signed up with
Social Security reached 18,876,389 last month.

UAR: Mystery no more: Spain's ex-king, Juan Carlos, has been in UAE since August 3

 Former Spanish king Juan Carlos, who left Spain under a cloud ofscandal, has been in the United Arab Emirates since Aug. 3, a royalhousehold spokesman said on Monday, putting an end to an international guessing game over the 82-year-old’s whereabouts.

Read more at:
Mystery no more: Spain's ex-king, Juan Carlos, has been in UAE since August 3 - Reuters

Spain, France ease coronavirus restrictions

Spain and France both took steps Monday to loosen the tight restrictions that the countries imposed to try to control the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

In Seville, Spain, waiters in face masks served coffees and "bocadillo" sandwiches at café terraces as parts of the country eased restrictions while the number of new fatalities dropped to a near two-month low.

Read more at: Spain, France ease coronavirus restrictions | CBC News

Spain orders all hotels to close in attempt to stave off coronavirus spread

Spain has ordered all hotels in its territory to close to help stem the spread of coronavirus, under a new measure announced in the state official bulletin on Thursday.

Read more at:
https://www.france24.com/en/20200319-spain-coronavirus-lockdown-hotel-closure-covid19

Tourism: Spain set for tourism record as U.S. visitors counter Brexit blues

Spain is on track for a record year of tourist arrivals, the seventh straight year of new highs, with U.S. and Asian visitors countering the disruption of Brexit and collapse of tour operator Thomas Cook, the industry minister said on Wednesday.

Read more at:
https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-spain-economy-tourism/spain-set-for-tourism-record-as-u-s-visitors-counter-brexit-blues-idUKKBN1XU20E

Spain: Taxes on US Tech Giants

Read more at:
https://www.thelocal.es/20190718/spain-to-push-ahead-with-tax-on-american-tech-giants

The Digest Group
Almere-Digest
EU-Digest
Insure-Digest 
Turkish-Digest 

For additional information, including advertising rates - e-mail:Freeplanet@protonmail.com

Posted by EU-Digest at 10:52 AM

USA -NATO:: Trump sends sharply worded letter to NATO leaders to pay more or else

Note EU-Digest: Trump says he is losing his patience with NATO allies, whom he finds should be paying more for the upkeep of NATO. 

Why don't his NATO Allies finally get the guts to tell this narcissist to go to hell, and have him pay for his own disastrous military adventures around the world.  Fortunately there has been a good counter-move by Europe, which is presently setting up their own united military defense force, combining all the EU Nations military forces into one.

For the complete report click on link below

http://www.newsweek.com/trump-sends-sharply-worded-letters-nato-leaders-says-he-losing-patience-1005779?spMailingID=3670208&spUserID=MTI0NzM2NDgxNDcS1&spJobID=1070120163&spReportId=MTA3MDEyMDE2MwS2

EU in the danger zone: The United States and Russia Target Germany - by Judy Dempsey

Europe is not in good shape.

Italy now has a government of leftist and rightist populists in power. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is telling the opposition party in Macedonia to reject a proposed deal between Skopje and Athens to resolve the dispute over Macedonia’s name.

Forget the fact that an end to this conflict would fill one of the security vacuums in this part of the Western Balkans, which should enhance European security. Macedonia could join NATO which Greece, until now, had vetoed because of the name issue.

More worrying, is that what is taking place in Europe today is, unwittingly, a collusion of interests between the Trump administration and the Kremlin.

These interests are about dividing the EU. In the case of the United States, these policies undermine the transatlantic alliance and weaken the West’s projection of its values. But above all, these interests are about undermining Germany, and in particular Angela Merkel, who has been chancellor of Europe’s biggest economy since 2005.

So why are Russia and the Trump administration targeting Merkel?

Let’s take Russia.

Once she became chancellor in late 2005, Merkel slowly chiseled away at the policies of her Social Democrat predecessor Gerhard Schröder. The former German chancellor had established very close links with Putin, even referring to him as “an impeccable democrat.” 

Merkel was having none of that. She reached out to Russia’s civil society activists. She spoke her mind with Putin. By the time the Russian president had illegally annexed Crimea in March 2014, Merkel knew where she stood with him.

Putin underestimated Merkel’s ability to get all EU member states on board to impose sanctions on Russia. Yet she did it. That weakened, to a big degree, the pro-Russia wings in Germany’s Social Democratic Party. The party’s “Ostpolitik”—or eastern policy that was based on rapprochement with Russia—was put on hold. So far, that Merkel line has held.

It hasn’t been easy. Both Germany’s pro-Russian Alternative for Germany (AfD) party and Italy’s new government want to end the sanctions on Russia. There were similar calls to lift the sanctions during Putin’s fulsome welcome by Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz in Vienna on June 5.

Putin is intent on dividing the EU, which means undermining Merkel’s authority. Needless to say, he denied that during an interview with Austria’s public TV channel ORF: “We do not pursue the objective of dividing anything or anyone in the EU,” he said.

As for Trump, his policies are far more dangerous because, for the first time since World War II, the leader of the West is trying to isolate and undermine Germany. That means weakening Europe and the alliance.

This goes against the strategic policies of every, successive American administration since 1945. Policies that have been unflinchingly committed to building a Western, and later united, Europe anchored on the Franco-German alliance and “embedded” in what is today’s European Union.

Yes, there were big differences and quarrels over the deployment of U.S. Pershing missiles in West Germany in the 1980s and later the American invasion of Iraq in 2003. The point is that the alliance and the EU managed to hold together. So why are Trump and his emissaries now trying to do the opposite?

One reason is that Trump sees allies not based on values but based on short-term American interests in which allies are chosen at random. Yet slapping protectionist trade measures on key allies such as Mexico, Canada, and Europe on the spurious grounds of national security begs the question why the United States should be doing business with non-democratic or authoritarian countries such as Egypt or China. Do they enhance America’s security?

Second, Trump’s attack on Europe is not just about trade and spending more on defense—issues that the U.S. president will no doubt raise at next month’s NATO summit in Brussels. It is about Germany. Or rather it is about Angela Merkel.

Merkel has refused to pander to Trump since the day he was elected. She stood up to him on trade and climate change issues during the 2017 G20 and G7 meetings. She endured humiliation when he gave her limited time during her recent visit to Washington in April. And all the while, Trump’s new ambassador to Berlin, Richard Grenell, has spoken about “empowering anti-establishment European leaders.”

Merkel, for the moment, has wisely shrugged off Grenell’s statements and interviews by leaving it to others to respond. But what Merkel cannot shrug off is how the American administration is singling out Germany for its trade surplus, for its car exports to the United States (forget the fact that the German car industry combined has created 110,000 jobs in America), for its refugee policy, and for its policy toward Russia. In short, for its status in Europe.

It’s as if the United States was trying to set other EU countries against Germany, especially given Berlin’s anti-austerity policies in dealing with indebted eurozone countries. All the more reason for EU heads of state and government to rally behind a leader that has shown some spunk when it comes to dealing with Putin, refugees, and Trump. And for keeping the EU together.

Read more: The United States and Russia Target Germany - Carnegie Europe - Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Spain - Swiss relations : Tit for Tat - Banking Industry: HSBC whistleblower held in Swiss-Spanish extradition saga

 Whistleblower Herve Falciani, a former HSBC employee who exposed massive tax evasion via Swiss accounts, was Wednesday arrested in Spain but released again on Thursday. Falciani had fled to Spain to avoid jail in Switzerland. The arrest of the whistleblower comes at a sensitive time in Swiss-Spanish relations when Swiss courts are considering a Spanish extradition request for Catalan separatist Marta Rovira, who fled to Switzerland earlier this year.

Read more: HSBC whistleblower held in Swiss-Spanish extradition saga

11/30/17 Spain - Economy: Barcelona port container traffic rises by historic 36%

The third quarter of 2017 was the best ever seen for container traffic for the Barcelona port, which grew by 36.8%.

Total port traffic surged by 31.2%. The port authority said that the increase was due to a sharp acceleration in traffic that began in early 2017. Container traffic rose by 31% from January to September: a total of over 2.2 million TEU.

All cargo transport sectors did well during the quarter, with trans-shipment rising by a whopping 129.8%. Foreign trade continued growing, with imports up by 9.3% (434,146 TEU) and exports by 3.5% (523,326 TEU). As concerns markets,

Asian countries saw the most growth in trade, especially the UAE at +11.3%. Trade with China also rose (+9.6%) as well as with South Korea (+14.2%), India (+13%), Japan (+10%) and Vietnam (+6.2%). Growth in ro-ro (ferry) traffic rose, which affects trade especially with Italy and North Africa, rising by 6% in the first nine months of the year.

Passenger traffic rose by 2.7% in the nine months in question at the Barcelona port, with a surge in passengers on ferries from Italy, the Balearic Islands and North Africa, rising by 11.4%. The number of cruise ships docking at the port fell by 1.9%.

EU-Digest

Russia Medling In EU Politics: EU experts detect rise in pro-Kremlin false claims - Jennifer Rankin

The European Union’s counter-propaganda unit has detected an upsurge in pro-Kremlin disinformation and false claims about the political crisis in Catalonia.

In the run-up to and aftermath of the bitterly contested Catalan independence referendum, EU officials have seen an increase in false information published in Russian and Spanish.

“World powers prepare for war in Europe,” proclaimed the headline of the Russian-language site Polit Ekspert on the day of the Catalan parliament’s declaration of independence.

An article for the Kremlin-backed news agency Sputnik about a minor secessionist appeal on the Balearic Islands was given the headline “Independence movements: a contagious timebomb in a state that does not listen”.

Officials working at the East Stratcom taskforce in Brussels say they have seen an increase in disinformation linked to the Catalan referendum, in line with the explosion of media interest in the story.

The unit started work in September 2015 as part of an attempt to debunk fake news and improve understanding of EU policies in eastern Europe.

The findings emerged after Spain’s foreign minister, Alfonso Dastis, said intelligence suggested Russian hackers were targeting the European Union.

A Moldovan politician, Bogdan Ţîrdea, claimed in a Facebook post: “EU officials supported the violence in Catalonia.”

Spain raised the issue on Monday at a meeting of EU foreign and defence ministers in Brussels.

 Read more: Catalan independence: EU experts detect rise in pro-Kremlin false claims | World news | The Guardian

Spain: Catalonia: Not one country in the world has so-far recognized Catalonia's declaration of independence

Carles Puigdemont: "to be or not to be?"

Spain’s Senate on Friday voted to grant Madrid powers to impose direct rule on Catalonia, shortly after the semi-autonomous region’s parliament approved a motion declaring independence
.
Herewith are five questions about what it means to make a unilateral declaration of independence:

Known by its acronym UDI, the term was first coined in 1965 when the former Rhodesia’s minority white government declared unilateral independence from British colonial rule.

The process itself is when a new state is established within an existing country, declaring itself sovereign and independent without the consent of the entity, country or state from which it is seceding.

“Any entity has the right to declare its independence. But to become a state that of course requires a territory, a population and authorities,” said Jean-Claude Piris, a Brussels-based international law consultant and former EU legal services director for 23 years.

“But what matters most is recognition by the international community,” he said. “Everyone has the right to issue a declaration of independence, but that in itself has no international consequence.”

Piris said very few countries will recognize Catalonia and “I guarantee you no one will recognize them” in the EU.

“Therefore it will remain an empty declaration: Catalonia will not be represented in international organizations, they will not sit in the EU, they will not be able to do anything and legally they will remain part of Spain,” he said.

Is Catalonia’s UDI legal and what will happen next: -

“What matters now is what will happen nationally and in the streets,” said Piris.

“Are there going to be demonstrations, barricades? Will people accept and submit” if Spain triggers Catalan guardianship . . . “or will there be violence?”

Spain “experienced a civil war not so long ago and just before World War II,” Piris pointed out.

If Catalonia becomes an independent state the implications “cannot be underestimated” said Narin Idriz, a researcher at the Hague-based Asser Institute
.
“All European Union member states cherish their territorial integrity, they will not want the same thing to happen to them, therefore it will be very difficult to find any support,” she said.

Bottom-line: at this point deposed Catalan leader Mr. Carles Puigdemont declaration of independence is not recognized by any country, and he personally risks arrest if he continues to defy the Spanish Constitution.

EU-Digest

Spain: Catalonia braces for Spain takeover as two sides remain deadlocked - by M. Fiske and L.King

In a crowd outside Catalonia's ornate regional headquarters in Barcelona, two men argued fervently. One was for independence from Spain, the other against.

Like others elsewhere in Catalonia, Xaui Nicolau, 41, and Juan Antonio Martinez, 67, argued over whether the northeastern region's president, Carles Puigdemont, had miscalculated by refusing to renounce secessionist aims.

Puigdemont, in a speech Thursday, ruled out early parliamentary elections — some observers thought holding the elections might help stave off Madrid's takeover — but not independence.

Now, with the Spanish government poised to strip Catalonia of its regional autonomy and remove Puigdemont as soon as Saturday, Nicolau said a unilateral declaration of independence was "the only option" remaining.

But Martinez, like officials in Madrid, staunchly insisted that Catalonia's independence drive was illegal. "It's the way you did it," he said. "It's not constitutional." Spain's Senate is to vote Friday on implementing direct rule in Catalonia to quell its independence bid — a step never before taken in Spain's democratic era by the central government.

After Puigdemont spoke, the regional parliament convened to try to plot a course in the face of Spain's looming deadline. The talk continued into the night before recessing until Friday morning.

Read more: - Catalonia braces for Spain takeover as two sides remain deadlocked – L

Spain: Catalonia independence - Carles Puigdemont faces PRISON if he declares independence - by Jon Rogers

José Manuel Maza, 66, gave a blunt message to the President of the north east region and said he would call on the Catalan police - Mossos d’Esquadra - to detain Mr Puigdemont, who has been the focal figures in the region’s push to break away from the rest of Spain.

Mr Maza, speaking at an event on cybersecurity in Madrid, said: “I am surprised that this is surprising. This is normal and natural in a state of law and, therefore, it is logical to pursue.

The rebellion crime is punishable by 30 years in prison if it is a crime of considerable gravity, of course."

He added that if the Catalan police did not comply with the order, Spain would take over control of the force.

Read more: Catalonia independence - Carles Puigdemont faces PRISON if he declares independence | World | News | Express.co.uk

Spain: Rajoy says he will sack Catalan government, call regional elections

Many Polls in Spain show
Carles Puigdemont should be locked up

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy on Saturday (October 21) said he would curb the powers of Catalonia’s parliament, sack its government and call a regional election within six months in a bid to stop efforts by the autonomous region to break away from Spain.

Rajoy said his government had taken the unprecedented decision to restore the law, make sure regional institutions were neutral, and to guarantee public services and economic activity as well as preserve the civil rights of all citizens.

The measures must now be approved by Spain’s upper house, the Senate, where a vote is scheduled for October 27.

Rajoy’s speech came after Spain’s central government met to discuss establishing control of the wealthy northeastern region following the referendum on secession three weeks ago.

Madrid says suspending some of Catalonia’s autonomy – a move that could be applied under Article 155 of the Spanish constitution – would guarantee “freedom, security and plurality” in the face of “rebellious disobedience.”

Rajoy said the goal of such measures, “is to go back to legality because it cannot be a portion of a country where law is not applied, where law doesn’t exist. And at the same time we need to go back to institutional normality.”

The country’s head of state King Felipe said he supports the central government’s stance, and affirmed the unity of Spain. He says “Catalonia is and will remain an essential part.”

“Spain needs to face up to an unacceptable secession attempt on its national territory, which it will resolve using legitimate democratic institutions, respecting our constitution, adhering to the values and principles of the parliamentary democracy in which we have lived for 39 years,” he added.

Note EU-Digest: The latest Spanish polls show that in the opinion of the majority of the Spanish  population PM Mariano Rajoy is considered being far to lenient to Carles Puigdemont. They find by a large majority that Puigdemont, like the two other party leaders of this illegal rebellious movement against the state of Spain, should also be locked up

Read more: Rajoy says he will sack Catalan government, call regional elections | Euronews

Europe: How Markets View European Unity Vs. Disintegration - by Erik Norland

EU-US: It is high time for a divorce

Opposing forces championing integration versus disintegration are assailing Europe. In the past two years, both sides have scored important victories. Britain's Brexit, Spain's Catalonian independence referendum and the entry of the nationalist Alternative fur Deutschland (AfD) party to the German parliament, or Bundestag, were victories for proponents of lesser European unity. The electoral defeat of far-right forces in the Netherlands and the victory of Emmanuel Macron in France were celebrated by those favoring the guiding principle of an "ever closer union."

Whatever one thinks of Brexit, the prospects for deeper European integration and the legitimacy of the various national independence movements, the currency markets' view is unambiguous: they strongly favor deeper political integration:

• When exit polls mistakenly called the Brexit referendum for the "Remain" voters, the British pound (GBP) rallied from 1.45 to 1.50 versus the U.S. dollar (USD) before crashing, first to 1.32 and later to as low as 1.18 versus the USD when the "Leave" victory became apparent. The euro fell 3% versus the USD on the day of the Brexit referendum and fell nearly 10% versus the USD within six months.
• Euro rallied 2% versus the USD in the week after Dutch voters dashed the hopes of Geert Wilder's eurosceptic Party for Freedom.
• Euro soared more than 10% to a two-and-a-half-year high in the weeks after Macron won the French presidential election on a platform advocating domestic economic reform and deeper European integration.
• September's German election results halted this advance after it became apparent that not only did AfD enter the Bundestag, as expected, but that Angela Merkel underperformed the polls by about 5-6% and would have to create an unwieldy coalition with the enthusiastically pro-European Greens and the Free Democrats, who oppose deeper economic integration.
• Catalonia's independence referendum led to a 1% one-day decline in the euro, further offsetting gains from the Macron victory. Ninety percent of Catalans voted to leave Spain in the referendum on October 1 that the Spanish state considers illegal and attempted to repress with force, leading to nearly 900 injuries.

Note EU-Digest: The obvious question therefore is: "if deeper unification of Europe is good for business in general , why has the Trump Administration been supporting Brexit and other nationalist movements in Europe, directly undermining European Unity?"

When will the European Union, in particular the EU Commission, EU-Parliament and member states wake up to the fact that a strong united Europe, with an independent foreign policy is not in the interest of the US, whatever they might say to the contrary.

You also do not have to be an Einstein to recognize that the US Foreign Policy has usually been based on a"divide and conquer" doctrine, with the Trump Administration now openly championing this doctrine. 

Obviously a fractured EU. would give the US a wide open playing field in Europe, with very little resistance from individual countries, to oppose major US policy decisions in a variety of areas, which could have a negative effect on the well-being of European citizens.

Yes indeed EU citizens, the motto: "United we Stand, Divided we Fall" is more important today than ever before. 

Read more: Europe: How Markets View Unity Vs. Disintegration | Seeking Alpha

Spain:Unity Survives, as Catalan local government suspends declaration of independence

Catalan president, Carles Puigdemont 
suspends declaration of independence

The Catalan president, Carles Puigdemont, has pulled the region back from the brink of an unprecedented showdown with the Spanish government by announcing that he will suspend a declaration of independence to pursue negotiations in the hope of resolving Spain’s worst political crisis for 40 years.

Addressing the Catalan parliament on Tuesday evening, Puigdemont said that while the recent referendum had given his government a mandate to create an independent republic, he would not immediately declare unilateral independence from Spain.

“We propose the suspension of the effects of the declaration of independence for a few weeks, to open a period of dialogue,” he said.

“If everyone acts responsibly the conflict can be resolved in a calm and agreed manner.”

Hours before the announcement, Donald Tusk, the president of the European Council, had appealed to Puigdemont to step back from a unilateral declaration of independence and begin dialogue with the Spanish prime minister, Mariano Rajoy.

Rajoy has shown himself willing to take the drastic step of invoking article 155 of the Spanish constitution, which allows the central government to take control of an autonomous region if it “does not fulfill the obligations imposed upon it by the constitution or other laws, or acts in a way that is seriously prejudicial to the general interest of Spain”.

The Spanish prime minister has repeatedly pointed out that the referendum and the laws underpinning it are a violation of the Spanish constitution, which is based “on the indissoluble unity of the Spanish nation, the common and indivisible homeland of all Spaniards”.

His government insists the Catalan question is an internal Spanish matter, and has promised to use all the legal and constitutional means at its disposal to try to stop the regional government’s manoeuvres. It has also deployed thousands of Guardia Civil and national police officers to Catalonia.

Note EU-Digest: Some background on Catalonia and their quest for independence: 


Catalonia has a total population of 7.5 million people. 

On the October 1, polling results, reported by the Catalan government, from the illegally declared referendum by the Spanish government -  it showed the "Yes" side had "won", with 2,044,038 (92.01%) voting for independence and 177,547 (7.99%) voting against, on a turnout of only 43.03% of the eligible voters.

Even though the referendum was held, it must be noted that based on Catalan law, the referendum should not have been held  re: Catalan Statutes of Autonomy - which states that a two third majority is required in the Catalan parliament, before any changes to the Catalonia's Political status can be made.

There was no 2/3 majority, when the vote was held in the Catalan parliament, to approve the holding of a referendum.  It was, however, decided by the ruling parties in the Catalan parliament that a simple majority vote in the Catalan parliament would be sufficient to hold the referendum  

In addition, the holding of the referendum itself, was also declared illegal, based on the Statutes of the Spanish Constitution.  Consequently the holding of a Catalan referendum was also suspended by the "Constitutional Court of Spain" on 7 September 2017. 

Nevertheless, Mr. Carlos Puigdemont still went ahead with the referendum.

Bottom-line the Catalan government, and its President Carles Puigdemont broke every Spanish law there was to break. 

Mr. Puigdemont and several of his cohorts can consider themselves very lucky not to have already been arrested and prosecuted. It could, however, still happen, if they continue to pursue this absurd nationalistic goal. 

EU-Digest

Spain Readies Forces Able to Seize Catalan Leader Today if He Declares Catalan Independence - S.R Smyth and E.Duarte

Viva España un miembro de la Unión Europea

Spanish police are ready to arrest Catalan President Carles Puigdemont immediately if he declares independence in the regional parliament, according to two people familiar with the government’s plans.

While a final decision on whether to act has not yet been taken, Spain’s National Police force has elite officers deployed in Catalonia who are prepared to join a raid if Catalan police try to shield Puigdemont, said one of the people. If Puigdemont makes a statement that falls short of immediate independence, the government in Madrid may stay its hand.

The president is likely to use the words “declaration of independence,” but they will probably be qualified or hedged in some way, according to another person familiar with his plans. The Catalan government spokesman declined to comment on Puigdemont’s speech at a press briefing in Barcelona on Tuesday.

Puigdemont is due to address the regional legislature at 6 p.m with many of his supporters looking for him to announce a new republic to follow through on the illegal referendum held on Oct. 1. With his core supporters demanding he make good on the illegal vote for independence and officials in Madrid urging Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy to finally crack down on the separatist campaign, Puigdemont’s rebellion may be running out of road.

Rajoy has insisted all along that he’ll use only proportionate force in relation to the separatist government in Barcelona. Even so, prosecutors have been exploring charges of sedition against other separatist leaders including Jordi Sanchez, head of the biggest pro-independence campaign group. Sedition carries a jail term of up to 15 years.

The National Police and the Civil Guard have sufficient officers in place to overcome any resistance they might meet, according to one of the people familiar with the government’s preparations. Both people asked not to be named discussing confidential plans.

Read more: Spain Readies Forces Able to Seize Catalan Leader Today - Bloomberg