Catalonia’s former leader has warned that the region is not yet ready for “real independence” as companies ramp up pressure on the separatist government to back away from a formal breakaway next week.
The calls for the separatists to moderate or delay their plans came as the Spanish government approved a decree that makes it easier for firms to move their official headquarters out of Catalonia. Gas Natural said it was temporarily moving its legal HQ to Madrid, while CaixaBank said it would move its legal HQ to Valencia to “protect the interests of customers, shareholders and employees”.
In remarks that will be seen as an appeal for caution, Artur Mas, the former Catalan president and leader of the governing pro-independence PDeCat party, said the region had yet to lay the groundwork for “real independence”.