Mas writes to EU leaders calling for support on independence

Catalan premier Artur Mas has sent a letter to the leaders of 27 European Union member states, as well as those of 20 or so peripheral countries, calling on them for support for a referendum later in 2014 to allow people in the region to vote on the issue of secession from Spain.

The letter, which has been translated into a number of different languages, is dated December 20, and was sent to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, British Prime Minister David Cameron and French President François Hollande, among others.

“I trust that I can count on you to move this peaceful democratic process forward,” the CiU politician writes in the letter, which is also accompanied by a more detailed document arguing the case for the independence drive.

The letter has been made public just days after it emerged that the Spanish foreign minister, José Manuel García-Margallo, had sent a letter to Spanish embassies and consulates abroad detailing to envoys the arguments they should use to explain why secession is not the answer for Catalonia or Spain.

Despite the growing support for Mas’s quest for sovereignty in Catalonia, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has already said that the referendum will not take place, arguing that it is unconstitutional. Growing voices from Brussels have also warned that an independent Catalonia would have to negotiate a separate agreement to get back into the European Union.