As an autonomous community of Spain, Catalonia is not recognized as a sovereign state by any sovereign state. However, as Catalonia has progressively gained a greater degree of self-government in recent years, the Catalan Government has established nearly bilateral relationships with foreign bodies. For the most part, these relationships are with the governments of other powerful subnational entities such as Quebec[20] or California.[21] In addition, like most Spanish autonomous communities, Catalonia has permanent delegations before international organizations, such as the European Union.[22]