Catalan independence movement
Other individuals include:All of the Spanish national political parties in Catalonia reject the idea of independence. Together they represent a majority of votes yet a minority of seats in the Catalan parliament. Of these, only Podemos is prepared to hold a referendum on the issue in Catalonia; others such as Ciutadans, and the People's Party of Catalonia, which had 25.4% and 4.2% of the vote respectively in the 2017 Catalan regional election, have always opposed the notion of Catalan self-determination. The Socialists' Party (13.9% of vote) opposes independence as well. While some of its members supported the idea of a self-determination referendum up until 2012, the official position as of 2015 is that the Spanish Constitution should be reformed in order to better accommodate Catalonia. A majority of voters of left-wing platform Catalonia Yes We Can (8.94%) reject independence although the party favours a referendum in which it would campaign for Catalonia remaining part of Spain. CDC's Catalanist former-partner Unió came out against independence and fared badly in every subsequent election, eventually disbanding due to bankruptcy in 2017.
Reactions to the Catalan independence referendum, 2017
Spokesman for the European People’s Party which is the largest group inside the European Parliament, said: "Someone needs to tell the Catalan people the truth. If you contest the law to abandon Spain you also need to know that you abandon the EU."Moody's Investors Service has warned that the increased tensions over Catalonia's push for independence could hurt the country's overall debt worthiness. The agency said the "ratcheting-up of tensions has negative credit implications" that could be worsened if Catalonia's regional government declares independence after claiming victory in the referendum. It added that the probability of Catalan independence remains low, mainly because it remains unclear that a majority of Catalans actually want independence. It expects the sides to negotiate a deal for greater powers for the region. The agency further noted that Catalonia represents about a fifth of Spain's economy, with a high per capita GDP, so independence could seriously affect Spain's public finances.