An independent Catalonia would be forced out of the European Union and euro area, which would directly hurt the regional economy, the Spanish economy minister said on Wednesday.
“It’d be out of all the treaties, 70 per cent of its gross domestic product would be subject to tariffs and physical borders. It would be out of the euro zone and the banks wouldn’t have ECB coverage … it would have to create its own currency which would be very depreciated,” Luis de Guindos told parliament on Wednesday.
Such depreciation would lead to an estimated 25-30 per cent drop in regional economic growth, elevated inflation and a doubling of unemployment rates, he said.
