After no party won a majority of the 350 seats up for election in the Spanish Congress of Deputies in July, the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party made agreements with several smaller parties to pool their interests and form a coalition government. On November 9^th, the Together for Catalonia and the Republican Left of Catalonia Parties joined this coalition – giving it enough seats to control the Congress – after Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez agreed to give amnesty to the Catalan separatists who supported and voted in an independence referendum for the region in 2017. It is possible amnesty will be given to over 1,400 people, including Carles Puigdemont, who approved the referendum while he was President of Catalonia.

“We are going to promote a climate of living together in harmony and forgiveness,” Prime Minister Sánchez said. “This government believes that a united Spain is a better Spain.”

Giving amnesty to Catalan separatists could decrease tensions between Catalonia and Spain. However, it is possible opposition parties and the Supreme Court of Spain will oppose Sánchez’s agreement, preventing the Catalan Separatists from receiving amnesty. Alberto Núñez Feijóo, the leader of the People’s Party, has already criticized the deal, saying, “[Prime Minister Sánchez] formed an alliance for personal convenience … [and] utterly surrendered to the blackmail of the independence movement.”

One factor which drove support for the independence referendum was that the Spanish government taxes Catalonia more than other region in the country. According to Catalan News, 20% of taxes paid to the Spanish government came from Catalonia. However, the government only invested 13.4% of its income in Catalonia – causing taxpayers to pay over 20 billion Euros that were not returned to the region. If Sánchez’s government invests a greater share of its tax funds back into Catalonia, that could remove some of the inequity motivating the separatist movement.

In 2006, voters in Catalonia approved an autonomy statute replacing Spanish with Catalan as the language of the region and giving Catalonia’s government more power to make laws regarding taxes and immigration. The Constitutional Court of Spain opposed parts of this autonomy statue in 2010 (which also increased support for the independence referendum), and, after the referendum, the Spanish government also supported ending Catalonia’s autonomy. Restoring the region’s autonomy could be an alternative to the independence movement. Although members of the Together for Catalonia and the Republican Left of Catalonia parties currently support having another independence referendum, it is possible this could change if Sánchez gave the region’s government more power and autonomy.

Despite support for giving the amnesty to the Catalan separatists in the Congress of Deputies, it is likely that the Senate, which is controlled by Feijóo’s People’s Party, will oppose the deal. The Supreme Court has also previously opposed giving amnesty to Catalan separatists, and, due to this opposition, Sanchez has been accused of undermining the Court’s independence. Further, the People’s Party has asked the European Union to oppose the amnesty bill. According to Euronews, the E.U. has previously opposed laws that have undermined the independence of courts in other E.U. member countries, making it possible that the bloc may indeed become involved.

Relations between Spain and Catalonia have been tense for a long time, and these tensions worsened after the region’s failed independence referendum. Prime Minister Sánchez’s decision to include Catalan parties in the coalition government and give amnesty to separatists could cause relations to improve. Even if the amnesty bill is opposed, Sánchez’s government can support autonomy and other policies that would benefit Catalonia. This would bring about less tension with the Spanish government, as well as making people in Catalonia more likely to support their region’s continued status as part of Spain.