Catalonia’s Regional President Carles Puigdemont made it clear that though he would ideally hold the referendum with the central government’s approval, he would hold it “with or without Spain’s blessing.” [...] it would mean losing a sixth of its population, and a key economic contributor to the stagnant Spanish economy, in which some approximate 22 percent of the population are unemployed. But what would Catalan independence really mean? 

In the last few weeks the Catalan Government has carried out some activities to boost and expand its economic relationships with Japan and Central America. [...] In its third edition, this strategy includes business promotion, investment attraction, tourism cooperation, student mobility and cultural and gastronomic exchanges.

The Public Diplomacy Council of Catalonia (Diplocat) has been invited by the National Council for Human Rights, to monitor the parliamentary elections [...] The general secretary of Diplocat, Albert Royo, stressed that this mission "makes Catalonia visible as an international committed, serious and responsible actor, in a natural space of action as is the Mediterranean area".

From London to Washington via Brussels, a diplomatic battle is rumbling as Spain's northeastern Catalonia region vies to win international backing for its contested drive for independence from Madrid. [...] Meanwhile, Mas and his Catalan nationalist allies are waging their own diplomatic campaign for support in power centres such as Brussels and Washington.