Catalan disintegration crisis: economic causes and possible consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic has caused a number of new challenges for the European Union. Although the new threats have mainly economic content, the old ones have not disappeared, including those related to the disintegration aspirations of the EU countries. One of the most significant disintegrating hotbeds of the EU after the British disintegration crisis is Spain. Here in the Autonomous community of Catalonia in 2017, a referendum on independence was held, which became the border of a new milestone in the confrontation between the Spanish center and the regions. Among the other causes of the Catalan disintegration crisis, such as political, social, historical, a special place and a key role was played by economic reasons. In particular, the global economic crisis of 2009 and the subsequent recession of the Spanish economy deepened regional imbalances, giving rise to political disintegration manifestations. As is expected by most leading international organizations, the crisis of 2020 may become much more significant in its economic consequences. This, in turn, may lead to new disintegration manifestations and waves in individual EU countries. The purpose of this study is to understand the causes of disintegration manifestations in Spain, as well as to draw parallels and forecast future disintegration trends in the country, as a result of the crisis in 2020.